Latin Division of the Guardians
by bedstories
Summary: You've heard of Tooth Fairy, Sandman, Easter Bunny and Santa Clause? Most recently, Jack Frost? Well, they're not the only ones. Latin America has their own version of these legends. Follow their adventures as they protect the children and try not to go insane doing it!
1. The Four Kings

Chapter 1: The Four Kings

Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar. Three Latin American gift givers, three spirits of illusion. Santa Clause is good, in fact, awesome, and just as important as them. But he's just one. The Three kings…are three. Three times the magic, three times the work and three times the fun. It's mystical, it's spiritual, and it's…Latin American Christian magic. Although you'd think these three are just old men with beards and camels, you are sooo wrong.

Melchior is a stereotypical king. He wears his robes like the time he met Jesus. He's tanned and likes his beard long and thick, and he goes barefoot always. He enjoys tea, books and meditating. He used to be a scholar in his previous life, but ended up being Balthazar's teacher, so he has a taste for the third king. Shy but wise, he's the oldest of the Kings…at least in physical age. The three are the same immortal age for all that that matters.

Gaspar is the middle king. He's black with a goatee and sandals. He's a man of the animals, so he knows how to take care of the three horses they have. He used to be a husband and a father, and he misses his family every year. But he knows where they are and he calms down. Most of the toys he's assigned are for big boys like his was-son, like basketballs, videogames and stuff like that. His physical age is one of a man in his thirties, close to the forties.

Balthazar is the baby of the group, his physical age being that of a 17 year old. He used to be a shepherd in his previous life, taking care of three other kids while attending classes. He likes playing with the toys he creates, which remind him of his little siblings. Every year, he stops at Bethlehem a while after giving the Latin-American children their toys, and he stays on the plain he lived to breathe in the memories of the past. Melchior says that is just misery, but he doesn't mind. He's blonde with blue eyes and white skinned, the only white-skinned of the three. He wears some boots he made for a kid, but was too big and no one else needed them. He said he would give them the next year, but ended up keeping them instead.

The story starts in Three Kings day of a random year. They had just finished their rounds when Gaspar noticed Balthazar was staring at the earth.

-"Hey, Balto, what's wrong? You look pale." He said, mocking his white skin. Gaspar might be an animal lover, but he's lazy for names, so he just calls him Balto.

Balthazar sighed and pushed Gaspar softly away, walking back to where his star goes. Gaspar shrugged and took Balto's horse.

-"Hey, Milk; you have a clue what's wrong with Balto? He's been glum the whole trip and now." Milk and Balto. Man, he really is lazy for names.

-"I do not know what troubles him. It worries me he does not speak to us about it. He trusts you. You should ask him." Melchior said, giving his horse to him. Gaspar hummed, unsure.

-"Since when am I his babysitter?" Melchior gave him _the look_ and pointed at the mourning boy on his star position. Gaspar groaned and tried convincing Melchior to do it himself with his eyes. He couldn't.

-"Rrah! Fine, I'll do it. In exchange, you take care of the horses." He says, giving Melchior the reins and walking to Balthazar. Melchior smiled under his thick beard and took the horses for a drink.

Gaspar sat next to Balthazar and stayed quiet before asking anything. Balthazar's face practically screamed, "I'm not okay and I want you to notice", and Gaspar couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

-"So, Balto…what's got you down?" he asked, poking his shoulder. Balthazar rolled his shoulder and shook his head.

-"If I didn't know you better, when you do that it means you want me to insist you, so I will. Come, on, kid, what's wrong? Why are you so sad?" he whined, shaking him.

-"Ah-ah-ah-ah-I'm fine! I'm just a little lonely up here."

-"Whataya mean, lonely? You got us, right?"

-"No offense, Gaspar, but I'm 17. You're close to your forties and Melchior has more age than what I'll ever know. It's kinda lonely being with two old men and no kids to play."

-"Hey! I am NOT that old." Balthazar chuckled and lay down, turning his back on Gaspar. He knew he didn't want to talk anymore, and anyway he had to tell Melchior, so he left the boy to his thoughts.

-"Hmm…so he is lonely?" Melchior said, scratching his cheek.

-"Yeah, being with us ain't enough for him. Who does he think he is?"

-"He is right."

-"WHAT?!"

-"I would feel uncomfortable if I were so young with people not as young as me. You and I have no painstaking need to have someone with us all the time, but remember Balthazar is different. He grew up with other youth like himself. He needs a friend like him."

-"Okay, Milk, now you lost it. Where the heck are we going to get him another forever hormonal 17 year old? Huh? He's been okay these past 1000 years, and he'll be okay for the rest of his eternity! We don't have to do anything!"

-"Gaspar…"

-"Please don't throw me the look."

-"Then cooperate. Would you do an old teacher a favor and cancel tomorrow's class?"

-"Sure, why not? He'll love a vacation." Gaspar said, crossing his arms.

-"Perfect. Then you will take care of him tomorrow while I talk to the moon, right?" Gaspar choked on his own drool, coughing and throwing momentary looks of fright at old Melchior.

-"Melchior! Are you nuts or are you nuts?!" he threw him _the look_ and unarmed Gaspar immediately.

-"Mmm…oh, alright! Gosh! Why are you going to talk to him? He probably isn't even going to answer you."

-"Yes, but remember, my friend, that I am 500 years older than you. I know the silent language of the moon better than you." Gaspar sighed and scratched the back of his head, defeated.

-"You know what, dude? I wish I was as wise as you." Melchior smiled and patted his fellow king's shoulder. The next day, as Gaspar saw Balthazar play Ping-Pong with a wall, he understood his loneliness perfectly. He even thought in his son, God bless him wherever he is. In many ways, the boy and Balthazar were equal. In curiosity, in character, in playfulness, and yes, even in the love they have from him. Gaspar deeply appreciated being a King, even if he missed his terrestrial family.

Melchior returned from his reunion with the moon very late at night, when Balthazar was already asleep. Gaspar was brushing his horse, and suspected many things when he saw Melchior's smirk.

-"Okay, old man, I know that smirk anywhere. Did you get what you wanted?" Melchior giggled, and took a deep breath.

-"My dear friend, you do not know the pleasure I received going to visit the moon. More than enlightened I am, believe me. You should have come. He had good jokes." Gaspar rolled his eyes, knowing that with all the rambling he threw, that he wasn't finding out any sooner.

-"He accepted looking for one more King!" Gaspar dropped his brush in shock.

-"What?"

-"Yes, Gaspar; he spoke!"

-"Goodness…did he tell you who it was?"

-"That is the unfortunate part. We will not know until next year. What I know is that whoever he chooses will also be a King, like us" Both Kings turned to look at the sleeping adolescent. Such innocence still covered the boy like a mystical aura, even if he wasn't much a child anymore.

-"This is going to be a long year for him…" Gaspar sighed, softening his gaze at him.

The next year…

The night had come: 6th of January was licking at their heels, and the Three Kings were busy. Balthazar left aside his loneliness and concentrated in doing a good job this year. As the Three got on their horses, a ray of moonlight shone over two of them for a few minutes. Balthazar saw in awe as the eyes of his friends turned from brown to white to brown again in mere seconds, and then it dissipated like smoke from a candle. Gaspar and Melchior looked at each other and smiled.

-"This is good."

-"Yes it is, Gaspar."

-"H-hey, guys, what's going on? What did the moon tell you?" Balthazar asked, nervous.

-"Relax, Balto. Milk and I have a Three Kings Day surprise for you after the trip. But for now, focus on your job. The Caribbean isn't an easy region, right?" Gaspar smirked, throwing him a mischievous glare. Balthazar gulped, going back to his thing.

They set off after the midnight hour struck, riding through cities and towns equally. As children slept and dreamed of sweets and toys and cinnamon and love, Balthazar, Gaspar and Melchior left them gifts under trees and beds, letting their horses eat the grass they left in shoes and boxes, and drinking glasses of water every one or two houses. These three, and Santa clause, were the two gift givers of Latin America, especially Puerto Rico, with its double culture. Neither was shadowed by the other, and the difference in dates helped. After the trip, they rode back to the heavens, Gaspar and Melchior anxious and excited to see the look in their friend's face when they showed him his present. Balthazar got down from his horse and looked suspiciously at Melchior. How could his teacher not tell him? Did he not trust him anymore?

-"Seriously, guys, what's up?" he asked. Gaspar took the three horses away and looked at Melchior. He nodded and turned to his scholar,

-"Balthazar, remember last year you told Gaspar you felt lonely?" Balthazar nodded, confused. Then, two strong black hands covered his eyes, startling him.

-"Aah! What's going on? Why are you covering my eyes?"

-"Gaspar, you are an idiot." Melchior said, dryly.

-"I'm just doing my job. Get the present." Present? What were they talking about? Wasn't it a box?

-"Gaspar, let me go!"

-"Stay still, Balto, you'll ruin the surprise."

-"What surprise? I don't know what you're talking about!"

-"Wow. This wasn't what I expected."

-"WHAT IS IT?!"

-"Let him see." Gaspar let go, making Balthazar fall forwards, bumping head on with his surprise. No sooner than the two gazes met and Balthazar let out a laugh of excitement.

-"Like it?" Melchior asked, knowing the answer quite well.

-"It? I'm not an object. My name is Maria." The girl snapped at him, making Balthazar love her even more. His surprise was a friend! A girl!

-"A girl? Since when are we called the Three Kings and a girl?" Gaspar whispered to Melchior, not convinced she was the best choice.

-"Maria? That's your name?"

-"Yeah…you must be Balthazar."

-"Heh, call me Balto."

-"Okay, _Balto_." She chuckled. Her laugh was like bubbles popping. He adored her the second he saw her, and it was much to say. Her hair was black like the night, her eyes brown like chocolate, her lips pink like strawberries, and what could he say? She was exactly his age and skin tone!

-"You like to play basketball?"

-"Yeah."

-"Wanna shoot some hoops as a welcoming?"

-"Okay." She smiled and followed Balthazar to where they made the toys. Melchior was so hung up on watching the teens play, he didn't answer Gaspar's question.

-"Milk shake! Why a girl?" he yelled at the teacher. Melchior woke up from his stare and looked at Gaspar with surprised eyes.

-"I thought you were going to accept a woman in our group. You are not sexist, are you?"

-"No, I'm just not convinced a girl would do the right job. We don't have another horse for her."

-"Look at her back." He did, and saw two perfectly sized angel wings.

-"She's an angel?"

-"Was going to be, when the moon decided she would do a much better job being a King…or in her case, a Queen.

-"Ugh."

-"Oh, Gaspar, please! Give her a chance. Look, she makes Balthazar happy. Is it not what we wanted for him? Happiness for the rest of his eternity up here?" Gaspar tapped his foot on the ground and crossed his arms. Somehow, the girl didn't quite convince Gaspar, because then _she'll_ ask for a girl because being around boys is too much.

-"Oh, all right. I'll give her a shot. But if she does anything to hurt him, she isn't staying here." Melchior smiled. Gaspar had kind of made Balthazar his son, so he knew he was going to keep a close eye over them. Maybe he should too. God knows what could happen between them. After all, they're both immortal, hormonal 17 year olds.

**A/N: Hello. Just so you know, Maria means "the chosen one", and I thought it was a nice name for Balthazar's new friend. The description of the hree ings is exactly how I have seen the Kings since my childhood. Hope you enjoyed this! There will be more if I have enough reviews :P**


	2. Duende Problem

Chapter 2: Duende problem

**In Hispanic folklore of Mexico and the American Southwest, duendes are known as gnome like creatures who live inside the walls of homes, especially in the bedroom walls of young children. ****_They are also known for taking items from young children._**

Elizabeth scowled as she took a peek at her special toy box with dolls. Two were missing: her two _favorites_, were missing.

-"Mami! My dolls are gone again!" she yelled from her room.

-"Ay, querida, I'm busy. I'll talk to your brother about this, just finish cleaning the room." Her mother answered, trying to finish dinner before her husband came home. Elizabeth closed her box, covering it with tape and started playing video games instead. From the waindow sill of her house, two small black eyes looked at the disobedient child. Chuckling, it let go of the window sill and hid in the bushes surrounding the house, ready to give the girl a nice surprise tomorrow. At night, the girl gave a fight because she didn't want to go to bed, and that's where Jen-Jen popped in. The next morning…

-"Mami! I can't find my red shoe!"

-"Oh, dear. Who could be stealing your things?"

-"I know who: a duende." The woman looked at her husband, scolding him quietly for saying that.

-"A duende? Papi, what's a duende?"

-"Duendes are small creatures that steal special items from naughty kids like you." he explained, nuzzling his nose on his daughter's small neck. She giggled, taking off her last red shoe to go put on her black shoes. Elizabeth had to know; was a duende really stealing her stuff because she was bad? Or was it another story like the ones daddy says a lot?

-"Hurry up, Elizabeth, we'll be late for school." After school, she'd find out. Once the humans of the house were out, Jen-Jen entered, looking for Elizabeth's last red shoe.

-"Hee-hee-hee! That naughty girl is a treasure trove! I love her stuff!" he squeaked, walking around like he was in his own home. And in a way, he was. Jen-Jen is a small person, simple as that. Those elves Santa has? He's their size, and has pointy ears and factions. His eyes are black, his hair was short and had a green Peter Pan hat that matched his green clothes. Okay, imagine Peter Pan, Asian. That's Jen-Jen. He had a blue bag where he had some dust that shrunk things to his size, and could hide them in his pockets. He found Elizabeth's shoe, in the middle of the hall, waiting for someone to trip with it.

-"Not today, mister!" he told the shoe, throwing the dust and shrinking the shoe to the size of a dime. He hid the shoe in his pocket and ran to the nearest open window, jumping out and waiting for the humans to come home. Elizabeth looked everywhere for her shoe, but she didn't find it.

-"Ugh! That duende's making me mad!" then an idea popped in her head. But it would get her killed. She took some scissors and cut mom's bras. She got a good scold and grounded for a week without TV, and she let her most precious item out: her teddy bear. She left the toy in the kitchen table and hid behind the sofa with a pillow case, waiting for the duende to come.

**Midnight...**

Elizabeth's eyes were closing. She was so tired…she even thought in going back to her comfortable bed…until she heard tiny footsteps. Her sleep poofed away, changed for pure shock. There was an elf in their house! A duende!

-"Wow" she whispered, seeing the creature look around in caution. The duende smirked and started climbing the table to the teddy bear. Elizabeth grabbed her pillow case and quietly, stepped behind the distracted duende. Then, swoosh! Trapped the duende in the pillow case. The duende began squirming and screaming, trying to break free. She shook the bag violently, dizzying it. Then, she took a peek inside. His eyes were going in circles, and he was holding his head. With an excited giggle, she brought the duende back to her room.

She turned on her lamp and took the duende out of the bag. He did a few spins before he fell on the bed, looking at the girl in fright.

-"Hi! I'm Elizabeth." She said, stretching out her hand. It was huge! Compared to his small hand. He cautiously shook the hand, not saying a word.

-"Are you the elf stealing my stuff?" she asked. He nodded, smiling.

-"Why?"

-"Because you're naughty!" he squeaked, laughing like a squirrel. She scowled, and slapped the elf.

-"That's not good! Stealing is bad!"

-"So is cutting mom's bras, not cleaning your room when mom tells you and getting F's in tests!" He snapped back, sticking his tongue out and sitting on the bed with arms and legs crossed. Then he began rubbing his arm where the girl had slapped him. She sighed. Yeah, it was true…

-"What do I have to do to get my things back?" she asked, sad. He tapped his chin, thoughtful, then snapped his fingers in an ecstatic brain flash.

-"Ayah! First, give me milk and cookies."

-"That can be arranged."

-"Second, clean your room, give mom some money for new bras and study more often." He said. She nodded, smiling and took the duende like a doll to the kitchen. She gave him a glass of milk and three cookies. He only ate half of each thing, before laying her stuff on the counter.

-"They're tiny!" she whisper-yelled. He pointed a finger up and took out some dust.

-"This'll help." he whispered back, blowing over the objects. Three dolls, a pair of red shoes and a bracelet grew to full size, making her eyes twinkle with gratefulness.

-"Thank you! What's your name?" she asked, hugging her three dolls like a mother to her children. He blushed and sheepishly scratched the back of his head, mumbling,

-"Jen-Jen."

-"Jen-Jen. Thank you, Jen-Jen. I promise to behave better so you don't steal my stuff again!"

-"Perfect then! Well, good night, Elizabeth." Quick like a flash, she kissed the duende on the cheek, and with a blush, said,

-"Good night, Jen-Jen." Then she ran to her room, taking all her stuff back. He jumped a while, happy for the kiss, then walked to the nearest open window, jumping out and back to his own house in the bushes surrounding the house. He knew the girl wouldn't behave better for too long. It actually made him smile that soon he was to steal something else from the girl. Maybe that diary where she wrote some things about _Jamie_...


	3. El Ratoncito Perez

Chapter 3: El Ratoncito Perez

**The Ratoncito Pérez or Ratón Pérez (****_Pérez Mouse_**** in English) is a figure popular in Spanish and Hispanic American cultures, similar to the tooth fairy, originating in Madrid in 1894. ****_As is traditional in some English-speaking countries, when a child loses a tooth it is customary for him or her to place it under the pillow, so that Ratoncito Pérez will exchange it for a gift._**

The Tooth Fairy has a lot of work to do. Sending out millions of mini-fairies helps, but it's still a lot of work, collecting memories in teeth and keeping them safe. The Perez mouse? He has double the work. Here I will explain.

Perez stared at the two floor house in front of him and winced. He had to climb…again. Just getting on a bed exhausts him, now he has to climb up walls with cracks and closed windows that don't help. _Caries_ thought the mouse. He took his time getting to the front door, smiling at the fact that it had a dog door.

-"Yay! Much easier." He whispered.

Passing through the door was a relief. Seeing what was past it was the bad part. With a squeak, he ran behind a water bowl, hiding from the army of cats in front of him. Technically, there were only four, but to a solitary mouse like him, that was a whole army!

Suddenly, the smallest of them lifted its head up and looked at the bowl with thirsty eyes. Perez opened his own eyes wide and pressed his back against the water bowl, praying for safety. As the kitten's steps became louder and closer, Perez's heart beat harder and harder against his chest. He thought he was going to die either of a heart attack or eaten by a kitten. But the cat only licked the water in the bowl twice and went straight to his mother's warmth, leaving Perez with a knot in his throat and his heart paralyzed.

-"Oof." He sighed, and cautiously tip-toed through the kitchen door and faced the stairs. Another challenge. _Ay, Jesucristo…_

After what seemed forever of stairs to the upper floor where the rooms are, he took a deep breath and looked at the three huge closed doors in front of him.

-"Very well, then, I'll guess: if I were a 7 year old with a bad attitude and no respect towards oral hygiene, which door would I be?" The third door had a sign that said, "Keep out or die"

-"Nope"

The second door had nothing but a towel on the doorknob, so the mouse decided that wasn't the room.

Once he opened the first door, he felt he was being watched. He turned around and saw eight yellow eyes staring at him and smiling.

-"AaAAaaaaaahAAAAAHAAAhhaahaha hahaha!" the mouse screamed at the top of its lungs, running around the room. The cats began meowing furiously, running behind the frightened mouse. The kid woke up, startled by the cat's screeching and meowing, and the yelling of someone he didn't know. He turned on the lamp and looked around.

-"Wow!" he said, as three cats and a mouse jumped on his bed and began running and jumping on him. The mouse scurried under the sheets, trembling, and the cats tried to claw at him.

-"Manchita, Caramelo, Leche, calmense! Stop right now! Let go." The boy said, taking the little kitten off his head and pushing the rest of the cats out of the bed. He slid under the sheets and looked at the trembling mouse with certain awe.

-"Hello. Are you El Raton Perez?" the boy whisper- asked. The mouse raised its head and looked at the boy's huge, light brown eyes. He nodded, showing him his quarter. The boy's eyes twinkled as he took the quarter in his hands and gave him the tooth in exchange.

-"Gracias." He whispered.

The mouse cleared his throat and said, in a shy manner

-"Um…could you tell your cats to leave me alone? They, uh, have a taste for me."

-"Huh? Oh! Okay. Stay here if you want to live." The mouse glared at the smirking kid. So alike to that Jack Frost clown, and to Gaspar as well…no wonder he so felt the boy was trouble before even getting to the house. After 5 minutes or so, the boy came back and hid the mouse in his pj's without as much as a warning. Perez didn't know what to do, either complain or squirm…until he heard,

-"Carlos Emmanuel Bayron, what are you hiding in your clothes?" a woman voice asked, obviously very angry. Perez stood perfectly still, knowing that if he even breathed, the woman would notice and then…he shuddered internally, not wanting to think in the consequences of being a mouse.

-"Nada, mami. I'm going out for some air, okay?"

-"No señor, you are staying inside! It's freezing outside and I don't want you catching a cold, entendiste?

-"Pero mami, I can't breathe!" the boy began coughing, much to Perez's displeasure, having to feel the odd contractions of the little boy's chest and holding on tight to his skin without scratching him. The woman sighed, mumbled something and left, as Perez could hear, and the boy walked out the back door. Then, he took the mouse out, holding it on the palms of his two hands. The backyard floor was covered with snow, and it was snowing lightly to decrease the temperature. _Oh, pero que joy..._

-"Okay, Perez, here we are. I hid the cats in the bathroom. Mom heard the cats and stuff and asked me why I was doing it. I sorta had to lie. You won't tell the Three Kings, right?" he asked, worry registered in his tone of voice. The mouse jumped from his hands, landing on his two feet in the snow. Brr!

-"Nah, I won't tell 'em. Anyway, they're never around unless it's December or January. Well, here I leave. Bye, Carlos Emmanuel."

-"Don't call me Carlos Emmanuel!" the boy growled, stomping back to his house. Perez chuckled and walked away, a new quarter in his bag and knowing there were more teeth to collect.

Yup. Perez has double the work. But also has double the fun.

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to two special friends of mine: Storyteller77, whom inspired the boy in this story: and Aku-hai, just because you reviewed, and loved the story before I even posted it. Just to clarify: this isn't the Latino version of the Guardians of Childhood. This is the Latin _Division _of the Guardians, meaning they are the Latin spirits of wonder, hope, lessons, memories, etc. Please don't compare them to the original characters...**

**Short chapter, hurried, ended up like this. Sorry if it's terrible. I'll do better for the next one! Reviews are welcome, but no flames. Thank you for reading. :)**


	4. Childhood Legend Hangover

Chapter 4: Tequila brothers

Jen-Jen loves fun. Sometimes he has a little _mature _fun instead of the normal kid fun he's supposed to have, but Jen-Jen is a grown-up duende. He can't help it.

Perez is serious. He takes his job seriously, even if he's sarcastic or mocking to the children he visits. His fun? Sleeping and working.

-"What kind of a Guardian are you, Perez?" asked Jen-Jen, crossing his arms while glaring at his friend. They were in Jen-Jen's house, and the Perez was so tired from last night, he had fallen asleep on his pancakes.

With a snort, he got up, startled at Jen-Jen's sudden outburst. He dried his sticky face and yawned.

-"What do you mean, Peter Pan?" Bam! Jen-Jen hit Perez with a frying pan on the head, angered.

-"Don't call me Peter Pan! You know exactly what I'm talking about, you buck toothed teeth stealer. You work yourself to a stupor and don't even have time to eat! When was the last time you had pancakes, huh?"

-"What do you want me to do? I have a lot of work to do; being in two divisions at the same time isn't easy, you know."

-"Perez, wake up, for God's sake! You have to have fun at least once a month. Work all day makes a cranky mouse and I hate when you're cranky." Said Jen-Jen, scowling like a cat. Perez rubbed his head from the sleepiness, and then rubbed his head because of the pain. Being another moment, they would be biting their heads off on a to-the-death fight, but Perez was too tired to even reply with an insult…

Jen-Jen sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose thoughtfully. What could he do to lighten up his friend…?

-"I got it!" he screamed, waking the already sleeping mouse.

-"Let's go to México!"

-"México? Why?

-"To lighten you up. We'll go to Mexico, have a few drinks and then kick everyone's butt at the arcade, how's that sound?"

-"Exciting. Too much for me. Why don't we just sleep a while…?" the mouse said, yawning. He began to lower his head on the table to sleep, but instead got a good ear yank from his partner.

-"No, no, no, no! You are NOT sleeping today, disease transmitter!"

-"What do you mean? I got work tonight. And I don't transmit diseases. I'm a perfectly healthy mouse!"

-"Tell that to Carlo's mom. Now let's go!" the duende said, pulling his sticky-face friend out of the house. Perez let himself be led to the backyard.

-"Don't you get scared someone will see you?"

-"Pfft! There are two adults and a teenager inside, and the only one that can see us is Elizabeth. But she's in school, so stop worrying, Bucky." He mocked, letting his friend's paw go and looking for something behind a tree. Perez yawned, scratching the back of his head as he waited for Jen-Jen to pop out again. Then, Jen-Jen walked out with his most precious and secret item in his hands: a snow globe. Not just any snow globe, Perez knew that. His eyes opened wide as Jen-Jen got closer to him so he could see it.

-"De dónde demonios sacaste eso?!"

-"Oh, did I ever mention I have cousins at the North Pole? They sent me one for Christmas Eve and I kept it for good use someday. Today is the day." He said a little sing-song in his voice. Perez wasn't too sure about the idea. Normally, the Latin division doesn't even speak to the American division, not because they were mad at each other or anything, but because their work interferes a lot. It was better off if the Latin's don't interact with the Americans…but Jen-Jen! Always breaking the rules. Show off.

Jen-Jen smirked as he prepared to throw the snow globe in front of him, but Perez stopped him.

-"Wait! Why do you want to break it?"

-"Dime que no es cierto, Pérez! You have to _break _the snow globe to be able to open the portal."

-"The _portal_?"

-"Shut up and watch, you ninny." He said, annoyed, and threw the snow globe at a tree root. It broke instantly, creating the snowy portal characteristic of it. Jen-Jen pulled his friend inside, dropping him like you would do with the laundry in a hotel.

Perez felt he was falling from extremely high up, like when you fall from a skyscraper. The wind blew into his whiskers and almost made him lose his hat. Then, he let out a gut-twisting scream as he saw the earth getting closer and closer. Splaff! He hit the dessert face first, sand filling his mouth and nose.

-"Puh! Pwee! Feh! For the love of *spits* milk teeth! *Spits* Jen-Jen!" he screamed, spitting out sand in the process. Jen-Jen was right next to him, standing in a superhero stance with a shit-eating grin on his face.

-"You were saying, Bucky?"

-"Puh! Where the heck are we?!" Suddenly, some mariachis began to play behind them. Jen-Jen, still grinning, pointed to the bar behind Perez. He turned around and almost lost his jaw. He was in front of a bar where there were rats, iguanas and a mariachi band consistent of really weird looking duendes. This seemed like Jen-Jen's favorite place on earth…but Perez didn't want to think about that.

-"Jen-Jen, care to explain why are we here?"

-"I said we were going to get some drinks and then hit the arcade, right? Here we have both!" he said, pulling his friend in enthusiastically. Perez looked at the tough rats sitting in front of the bar counter, and gulped when one of them glared at him.

-"Hey, tio! I'm back!" he yelled at the bartender, who was sleeping. He shot up like Perez had done, and smiled widely when he saw his friend.

-"Jen-Jen, mi amigo! How you been?"

-"I clicked two days ago. It was crazy! But right now, my friend Perez and I need a shot of tequila, make it crunchy, could ya?"

-"You got any money?"

-"Nope, but he does." He said, pointing at the mouse. Perez winced and blushed; lowering his head in embarrassment. Why did he have to be the tooth mouse instead of a normal mouse? He took out a huge quarter and laid it on the table.

-"Virgen santisima! You deserve all the shots free with this baby! Here, take the bottle." Tio said, planting it in front of Jen-Jen. He licked his lips hungrily and took it, smiling like a kid in Christmas. He popped the clay bottle open and drank it, bottoms up, then showed the bottle to Perez.

-"Take a shot, Bucky, it's awesome."

-"No, thank you! I don't drink." The whole bar paid attention to the new comer instantly, whispering stuff and snickering. Jen-Jen shook his head softly, pinching the bridge of his nose.

-"Roberto Elias Perez, you are 118 years old. Grow up already! This isn't going to kill you now. Unless you're a chicken, then it will." He smirked, giving him the bottle. Perez looked at it unsure whether to drink it or not. He _is_ a childhood legend, and childhood legends don't drink…

-"Ha! Childhood legends don't drink? What do you think Santoff Clausen drank when Mrs. Clause decided Melchior was a good listener, huh?" Jen-Jen lied, laughing. The rest of the bar laughed too, trying to encourage Perez. They did the opposite.

-"Ugh, Perez, just take a sip, if you don't like it, you can give it to me. It's a good fifty-fifty." He sing-song said, smiling. Perez raised an eyebrow, worried, but thought, _ay, Jesucristo!_ And drank it up like Jen-Jen did.

**3 hours later…**

-"What you looking at, huh? Wanna fight? Bring it on!" Perez yelled to his shadow. Jen-Jen hadn't taken a drop of any alcohol; instead let Perez drink it all. The bartender couldn't stop laughing at how ridiculous the fight between Perez and his shadow looked.

-"You know, Jen-Jen, I just remembered, I didn't give you the house specialty." The bartender said, smirking, like hiding a secret. Jen-Jen raised an eyebrow and looked at the bartender, curious. Tio looked for a piece of chocolate the size of a penny, and thumped it on the table.

-"You think you'll be able to handle this?" So much chocolaty goodness…Jen-Jen opened his mouth wide and took a dog bite out of it, barely being able to chew on the piece. The bartender snickered as Jen-Jen's eyes grew wider and crazier the second.

-"SUGAR RUSH!" he screamed, jumping up and down and taking a sip of everyone's drinks.

-"Hey!"

-"Quieres un puño, idiota?"

-"Come back here so I can punch you like a bag!"

Jen-Jen didn't care. He bumped into Perez, who was all knocked out by the fight with his shadow, and then they both realized they were surrounded. The two legends looked at each other and smirked.

-"Bring it on!" they yelled at the same time, raising their fists. Both drunk and hyper, the rats and iguanas and every dessert creature available for the fight joined.

Bump! Whack! Bite! Munch! Crack! Bim! Ow! Punch! Every possible fight word popped into their heads as the fight became more and more intense. Who was winning? Nobody knew, only that the bar was a nightmare. Bottles flew; teeth fell out, blood dripped onto the floor, and things got out of control in less than five minutes. Once a splash of tequila wet the bartender's head, he got tired of the bar being so stupid with his friends. He grabbed Perez's ear and Jen-Jen's collar and dragged both of them out, throwing them like a trash bag.

The bar went crazy with applauses and whoo-hoo's at the bartender. He'd taken out the trash and restored peace to their calm evening. They began to laugh at the two idiots, being both newbies at the whole fighting thing. But the bartender wasn't happy.

-"What are you all laughing at, huh? Get out of here!" he said, taking out a toy gun and shooting the roof of the bar. Everyone, from snakes to birds to rats, ran out, knowing the bartender well when he got mad like that. He sighed and closed his bar for the night, having enough money with Perez's quarter to last a whole month. He left the legends to suffer their hangover in front of the bar, smiling a little. It had been fun until he gave Jen-Jen chocolate…

At night…

Jen-Jen and Perez woke up, moaning like zombies. Their heads hurt, their eyes hurt, their stomachs hurt…heck, even their hair and fur hurt! Perez blinked twice and stared blankly at the stars. So beautiful and delicate. He'd been in the sky before, but it had never looked as beautiful up than down. Their soft twinkle and sweet sound made him smile a little, remembering his days in Madrid. Those were the days…he used to work a lot at night, like now…NOW!

He jumped up; making Jen-Jen hit his head with the ground. He stumbled a little; hangover still beating in his head, and his articulations didn't feel so good either. He had a lot of work today, he could just feel it! But he was so hung up…

-"Dang you, Jen! You drunk me so I wouldn't work tonight, didn't you?!" he yelled, holding his head tightly.

Jen-Jen sobbed, but let it go and got up with just an effort as Perez.

-"Yes, I did! Perez, you work too much, let the Tooth Fairy help you for once…"

-"I don't need that feathered brat! I could do things by myself anyway! I've been 118 years doing this, and NOW you come and ruin my job?!"

-"I didn't want to ruin your job! You should be _thanking _me for this!"

-"Oh, really? Thank you for my purple eyes? Thank you for the stomach ache? You're really an idiot, Jen-Jen!"

Jen-Jen yelled and punched Perez in the nose, making it bleed again. He gasped, surprised, but scowled and growled, throwing himself over Jen-Jen and punching him again. He started biting Jen-Jen's leg, while he stretches his ears to the limit, almost trying to tear them off. Oh, it's on! The fight continues a while, grunts, ouches and screams coming from them as they unleash their anger on each other. Then, a motherly figure stood over them, creating a shadow over the already shadowed ground of the Mexican dessert. They stop in mid-fight, Perez on top of Jen-Jen with his foot in his mouth, and Jen-Jen pulling his tail. She raised an eyebrow, floating in mid-air with her arms crossed.

-"Feathered brat, Perez? Am I really that to you?" she complained, landing. The two legends quickly untangled each other and stood at least five steps away from each other. They were both embarrassed and nervous at having one from the American division in front of them. And she's huge compared to them!

-"Sorry, Toothiana. I was just…

-"You have a hangover, sweetie, you can't work tonight." She said, kneeling down to their level. She was still pretty big compared to them. He nodded, sadly, and lowered his head. Jen-Jen had the most irritating shit-eating grin in his face, thinking he was right, until…

-"And you, Jen-Jen!" he shot his head up, looking at Tooth in shock.

-"You know childhood legends don't drink. You shouldn't have done that to poor Perez. Apologize to him." She said, pushing the duende a little closer to his companion. He mumbled something under his breath, not looking at the mouse directly, and scratched the back of his head.

-"Louder, Jen-Jen."

-"Okay! I'm sorry, Perez. I know I shouldn't have made you drink. But he…!"

-"Shh." She said, placing a finger on her lips gently, putting an exclamation point to her hush. He did as he was told, shutting the heck up. She smiled a little, but then put a stern face.

-"I'll take you to Melchior so he can give you some tea, Perez. And Jen-Jen is going home now."

-"How?" he asked.

-"Walk. You have feet for that, don't you?"

-"But my house is in New Jersey!"

-"Should have thought of that before using North's snow globe to transport you here." She said, and then softly took the mouse in her hands.

-"But…the children…"

-"They'll be fine tonight, Perez. For now, I think you need a little rest." She said, sweetly. As the sky became closer and closer, Perez's eyes became heavier and heavier. He didn't want to fall asleep, but…he did. The Tooth Fairy noticed and smiled. He looked so cute! And being a mouse, even cuter! The fairies could do his job for tonight.

He left the mouse with Gaspar, who was a better animal keeper than Melchior, and started to fly back home when he interrupted her.

-"Wait, Tooth! How did you find him again?"

-"I, uh...I was going to visit a house in Mexico and made a wrong turn to the dessert. Huh. Me and my scattered life." she shrugged, smiling nervously. Gaspar roled his eyes and walked away. She flew away too, blushing a little.

**A/N: Another hurried chapter. Good grief! Well, I should change the rating of this thing, anyway. Tequila isn't a PG rated drink to be precise. This ended up well. It was supposed to be called, "Tequila brothers" but I guess I messed up. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it and leave reviews! They come with free pieces of chocolate! (no tequila, sorry) If you guys think I have to translate the spanish parts, please. Do tell :}**


	5. Blinded

Chapter 5: Blinded

_Sorry for not updating in soooo long. I had a nasty writer's block attack and couldn't quite finish or start this chapter. But thanks to my sissy, I did it! Here it is:_

It was nothing more than an ordinary late night. Melchior was reading Hamlet for the literal hundredth time while Balthazar and Maria played cards. Gaspar was sitting in a rocking chair…and was bored to death. With a yawn, he stretched and got up from his chair, walking away from the group

-"Yo, Gaspar, where are you going?" Balthazar asked, looking up from his game.

-"Not now, Balto, I just remembered I left something at the stables."

-"What?" Maria asked.

-"My dignity." He spit at her, turning and walking away once more. She made a mocking face and went back to the game.

-"Hey! That's cheating, Balto!"

Gaspar took a deep breath and sighed once he got to the stables. He was a man of the animals, he couldn't help but feel comfortable around them. He smiled once he got to his horse, Noche.

-"Hola, Noche. You okay, buddy?" he said, opening the stable door to check on his buddy. The horse turned back, startled, and got on its hind feet.

-"Whoa, Noche, calm down!" But the horse was out of control. It threw itself at Gaspar, scratching his face and arms.

-"Aaaaahhhhh!"

Balthazar, Maria and Melchior heard the screams of help, and left everything they were doing to go see what was happening. Gaspar was covering his face with his arms, which were both bleeding, and the horse just kept on going. Melchior lifted his hand and shooed the horse away, leaving Balthazar and Maria with the injured Guardian.

-"Gaspar, what happened?" Balthazar asked, helping him up. He was crying, but the tears mixed with the blood seeping through the scratches.

-"I can't see!"

-"What do you mean you can't see?!"

-"That godforsaken horse must have scratched his eyes."

-"Don't you insult Noche!"

-"Ya, ya, my immature guardians. Gaspar, you shall be left at the care of Maria while your eyesight recovers. Balthazar, you shall play the role of Watson and help me solve the mystery of Noche and his tantrum." Melchior said, pulling Balthazar up. Maria tried helping Gaspar up, but he just yanked his arm away from her and got up on his own. He stumbled, holding on to somebody, and tried walking around, flailing his arms to "see" with his hands.

-"Gaspar, wait up!" Maria said, following him. Balthazar looked at Melchior, uneasy.

-"Are you sure pairing them up was a good idea? I mean, he hates her, and she's not exactly fond of him either."

-"Balthazar, my child…I do not care if they hate each other or not. I know what I am doing and it is final." He said. It didn't sound menacing, but something told Balthazar it was going to be a really weird night.

-"Gaspar!" she yelled, catching up with Gaspar. He let himself fall over his knees and began drying the blood off his face.

-"Let me help you…"

-"No! Let me go!"

-"Why don't you let me help you?"

-"Because! I…"

-"I win, now come on, cry-baby." He whined, but let himself be led to her room. She sat him on a cloud and told him to stay still. He pfft-ed. Of course he was to stay still. He was blind! Then a question popped into his head: How was Maria to heal his eyes? It was obvious his arms needed bandages, and his face could be covered in Band-Aids, but what about his eyes? Was he to stay blind for the rest of his eternity? Huh?!

-"Calm down, Gaspar, I'll find a way to heal your eyes." She said, giggling. He raised an eyebrow, but he didn't know if she saw it.

-"You can read minds?"

-"Among other things. I read what you thought of me the first time. I'm not that bad, you just have to get to know me better." He gulped. He wondered if she also read the memories of his past and other secrets he used to think about…

-"No, I didn't."

-"Stop reading my mind and just heal me!"

-"Okay, okay, don't bite me. Take off your jacket." He did as he was told, and boy did she get a surprise! His arms were quite muscular, something he'd rather not show because of previous incidents.

-"Wow."

-"What?"

-"Y-you're wounds. They're deep." She lied.

-"Whatever…"

Meanwhile, Balthazar was checking Noche's stable after Melchior took Noche for a night ride. What would make Noche attack Gaspar? It just wasn't like it to behave like that. And so aggressively! Then, an eerie wail interrupted Balthazar's train of thought. In a corner was an inky black creature, curled into a ball, and it wailed softly, like a baby. Balthazar kneeled, taking a closer look at it. He had the curiosity of a seven year old, so he stretched his hand to touch it. Suddenly, memories flooded into Balthazar's mind, and the feeling of cold and water surrounded him in a flash. A heart-stopping fear invaded him, and he pulled his hand back immediately, panting. The creature unrolled itself and looked at Balthazar with an evil smile on its face. He recognized the creature immediately. With a nearby cloth, he trapped the creature, folding it like a bag. He closed it with his headband and smiled.

-"So you made Noche attack Gaspar? Son of the darkness. Melchior!" he called, running to the library to show his friend.

Now he was all wrapped up. His arms were covered from shoulder to elbow with cloth, his face was literally a Ban-Aid collection, and Maria couldn't be prouder of herself.

-"There. I'm done!"

-"Oh, well, isn't that peachy, Maria? You dressed my wounds, stopped every bleeding scar and everything a nice nurse would do. But there's a teeny detail: I can't see how good your job was." He growled.

-"Don't be such an impatient man, I'm not done."

-"You just said…"

-"I meant done with the bandages. Now comes the fun part: I get to use my powers!"

-"Wait, what?"

-"Feel this." She whispered, cupping her hands over his eyes. He was a little uneasy about this, since it was her first time using her powers and he was the first victim. But he let her do her magic. For a second, light escaped Maria's hands and covered Gaspar's eyes. For him, it felt like a shock of cold hitting his eyes that slowly and painfully began warming up. He moaned a little, since it wasn't even that painful. It was more like a…blissful pain. If pain could be blissful. She giggled and said something he didn't quite understand. Then, at the pace of a slug, sight came back to his eyes. She took her hands away from him and simply stared at the blinking Guardian.

At first, everything was blurry, but as he kept blinking, the images became clearer and clearer. The stars, the clouds, his hands…and Maria. That blessed angel that recovered his eyesight! He smiled so side you could see it from behind, and hugged Maria like she was his long-lost daughter.

-"Whoa, Gaspar! Calm down…"

-"How can I calm down? I can see again! You are a miracle worker, Maria! God bless those miraculous hands of yours!" he said, snatching them and kissing them. He kissed her on the cheek for a second and got up from his cloud, running around like a maniac. She was in shock. Then, a grin appeared in her face, and she got up too, following Gaspar to the library.

When Gaspar got there, Balthazar and Melchior were looking at a small globe with lights,like searching for something. (Okay, to explain a little: North has this huge globe with lights that put how many children believe, right? The Latin Guardians have a smaller version of it, like the size of a basketball.) He frowned. Melchior had a very serious look in his face; he only put on that look when there was trouble. Maria arrived, giggling, but she stopped when she saw Gaspar's stern look.

-"What's wrong?" she asked. Balthazar turned to see her, and smiled a little.

-"Hey, Maria, I found what startled Noche!"

-"Really?"

-"Shouldn't you be talking to me instead of her?" Gaspar interrupted. Balthazar shrugged and blushed, showing them the improvised bag he made. Inside there was something that squirmed and shrieked, trying to escape. Balthazar handed Maria and Gaspar a candle each.

-"You guys better hold on to this." He said, then he snapped the bag open, letting a furious creature, that was similar to a shadow, fly out. It flew all over, shrieking and scaring stuff that wasn't even alive, and Balthazar ran behind it, trying to trap it again. It stopped in front of Maria, who stared into its pitch black eyes. The creature surrounded her, making a black smoke around her eyes and face. She started screaming, falling over her knees in panic. Gaspar put his canld closer to the creature, making it writhe and shriek and disappear like smoke. Maria was panting and crying, clearly scared stiff. Balthazar let the bag on the floor and kneeled next to her,wrapping her up in a hug.

-"Calm down, Maria, it's over."

-"What was that?!"she said, looking up at Melchior for answers. He sighed.

-"It was a Fearling. Pitch might have been here at some time, but we are not too sure."

-"Pitch? Who's Pitch?"

-"You know him as El Cuco. He's the leader of the Night Mares and Fearlings. The question is, why would he send a Fearling here? Isn't he against the American Division?" Balthazar asked, confused.

-"Remember, we might be another division, but we are still guardians." Melchior explained; heart heavy. The three Kings threw a look at each other and understood:

This meant bad news.

**A/N: Dun, dun, duuuuunnnnnn! A Fearling attacked Noche, Balthazar and Maria. Could this mean Pitch's return? Does the American division know of this? Many many questions and only one chapter. Fret not, my readers! These questions and more will be answered in dear time. For now, enjoy, read and review! I detected a little Balto/Maria back there, did you? :} **


	6. Guardian del Miedo

Chapter 6: Guardian del Miedo

Perez slowly and painfully opened his eyes, expecting to be in the dessert with Jen-Jen still. But he wasn't still in the Mexican dessert. In fact, he was in his bed, in his house, surrounded by the rest of his mice army. (_What? You thought he did all that teeth collecting himself? All I said was that he had double the work_.) He swayed his paw at them, shooing them away from his bed as he sat up. He was still a little hung up from the tequila incident, but he would be fine. The mice all left the room, silencing the squeaks that so annoyed him. Then, a giggle coming from the door caught his attention. There was Lucinda, his best teeth collector, with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

-"La bella durmiente woke up, eh?"

-"Si, estoy despierto, but not totally. What are you doing here?"

-"Checking on my boss. I heard you had a nice hangover."

-"Don't remind me, mujer! My head hurts like cavities on a molar. What's the status report on the jobs for today?"

-"On a scale of one to ten, like a seven and a half. The teeth rate went down by three, god knows why. Need anything else?"

-"I need the list of mice who worked yesterday while I was gone, and some tea!" he snapped at the end, sliding down into his sheets again. Lucinda chuckled and shook her head, leaving Perez alone to try to calm himself. Once she was gone, he peeked out of his sheet with one eye, then swung them away and got up. He looked pretty bad for a mouse: his tail was chewed, his ears were stretched, and there were patches of fur missing from his skin. Not to mention his purple eyes. Being Perez, he wasn't letting his physical distract him from his job.

He grabbed his coin bag and his hat, and escaped through the window. When Lucinda came with the papers and the tea, Perez was long gone.

-"Rrrrr, PEREZ!"

-"Let's see, which house is it? Oh, this one! A first tooth, too." He muttered to himself, walking along the streets of Madrid like Juan por su casa. No matter how hung up, bruised, sick or emotionally hurt he could possibly be, he always tried to do his job taking the teeth and leaving the prizes. It was what kept him alive in a way. Besides, he knew that the memories of childhood were in his paws and the Tooth Fairy's hands. Basically, he was a work addicted mouse.

He reached the first house in record time, which pleased him. It was a fairly small house, with no pets, thank god. The windows and the doors were closed, so he had to enter by squeezing through a mouse hole smaller than him. Does tequila make you grow? He thought as he walked through the kitchen and crossed the hall. He didn't even have time to try and squeeze under the door, because the kid who lost the tooth started screaming like it was the end of the world. From under the door, a shadow rushed out, making Perez feel cold. The lights on the hall turned on, and Perez ran behind the shadow, hiding behind a chair while the adults went to check on their child.

The shadow kept rushing out, and Perez could swear it was chuckling as it escaped the house sliding under the back door. Panting, he strained his ears to hear what was going on.

-"Alex, querida, what happened?"

-"Mami, tuve una pesadilla! It was horrible; I don't want to go to bed!"

-"What did you dream, sweetie?"

-"A monster! A big, dark monster with yellow eyes and sharp teeth was eating the house and it almost ate me!" the girl cried.

Perez gasped. It was normal for kids to have nightmares with monsters with sharp teeth, but by the way the girl cried and squeaked at the mention, it was more than the normal sharp teeth monster. The parents decided to let the child sleep with them, since she was so scared she didn't even want to close her eyes. Once the three had settles in the room, Perez finally got the courage to go to the room to get the tooth. But it bugged him how altered the child was after the nightmare. It couldn't be Pitch; he didn't even have power to stand up…did he? Now he had two missions for the night: collect the teeth and find out what the shadow was. The rest of the night, he was vigilant in case the shadow ever came back.

But the shadow didn't come back. Not even for a sneak peek at his next victim. Perez even thought it had been a stray nightmare, nothing but a false alarm…at least, until he reached the last house. It was a boy, who had lost a canine, Perez's favorite kind of teeth. He had the tooth in his hands and was ready to leave the coin when an eerie moan scared the stupid out of him. He dropped the tooth and scurried under the pillow, peeking out to see what it was. The shadow! It came back!

Perez watched in horror as the shadow took off its hood and looked at the child with an evil smirk in its face. A teenager with round, light blue eyes and a striking resemblance with Jen-Jen stood there, towering over the little boy. It patiently waited for the dream sand to flow in the room, making a wonderful dream above the boy's head.

-"Look at it. He dreams with airplanes and trains. A strange combination of transportation, but who am I to judge?" he said, his voice sending shivers down Perez's spine.

-"That can be changed; everyone knows that trains are dangerous. They may create an…accident." He said, softly brushing the dream sand with his fingers. The sand started to turn into dark sand slowly, making the boy wince and groan. The teenager began to chuckle softly, enjoying the sight. Perez rolled out from under the pillow and tried to shoo the nightmare away, but it was too late.

-"Ooh, the Perez mouse, what an honor."

-"Grrr, you leave this boy alone!"

-"I was on my way to, thank you for reminding me, uncle."

-"Wait just a sec! Who are you and what is your purpose?" Perez asked, defensively. His plan was to ask directly instead of just doing wild guesses, and the teenager didn't seem taken aback by the question.

The teenager jumped on the window sill and put on his hood, hiding his face and leaving nothing but a smile.

-"My name is Daniel, and my purpose…is fear." He whispered, then happily showed Perez the coin he was about to leave the boy. Perez's eyes opened wide, and then he looked at his coin bag. His last coin!

-"Wait!" The teenager waved a hand at him, and then turned to dust, flying away into the dawn. Dawn? So quickly?! BUT HOW?!

The kid started waking up, stretching his arms and yawning. Perez had to hide! He jumped from the bed and slid under it, listening to the boy gasp.

-"My tooth!" Then there was a tense silence. Perez had left the tooth instead of taking it with him. Epic fail.

-"He didn't come…why didn't he come?" the boy asked, his voice breaking like he was about to cry.

-"Say que?!" Perez squeaked.

-"So my friends were right, then. The Perez mouse doesn't exist. I knew it." He said, throwing his pillow angrily at the floor. He dumped the tooth in a trash can and left the room, sniffing. Perez was now utterly heart broken. The kid had stopped believing right above his whiskers…and he just stayed there like a good idiota. He didn't even try to stop it from happening.

He slipped from under the bed and looked for the tooth in the trash can. Even if the boy didn't believe anymore, he was still treasuring his memories. It was his job, after all. And no matter how hung up, bruised, sick or heartbroken he could be…he always tried to do his job. Then he remembered what the boy had said. "My purpose is fear..." It sounded terribly like Pitch.

**A/N: A Christmas present for all of you! Hope North gave you everything you wanted and you had a great time with your family and friends! Leaving the sappy Christmas talking, here is my 6th chapter. Since everybody likes Perez, I decided to do another Perez chapter. There will be more of him, that's for sure. The teenage shadow isn't a transformed Pitch. Oh, God! Secondly, you guys noticed what the kid called Perez, right? Hmm...and he resembles Jen-Jen. Think the worst, guys, think the worst. Enjoy, and review, please!**


	7. Stowaway

Chapter 7: Stowaway

Jen-Jen rushed out of his cottage hidden in the bushes of his chosen child's house, putting on his shoes and zipping his pants up. Elizabeth saw Jen-Jen running out in the backyard, and she ran out to greet him

-"Hi, Jen-Jen!"

-"Ooh-hoo-hoo, I'm much, much, too much in a hurry, Elizabeth dear! Can't stay and chat!"

-"Why?" she said, stopping him from getting to his snow globes in the tree hole. Jen-Jen spit out his other shoe and put it on, then looked at her stern. She was pretty serious herself.

-"I'm going to see the Kings. They need me for some kind of emergency." He said, stomping away.

-"Then, I'll go with you."

-"Elizabeth, you can't come! Only spirits and magical beings are allowed!"

-"But, Jen-Jen…"

-"No buts. Go home."

Her lower lip began to quiver as she let her face turn from serious to severely sadden. Tears formed in her eyes even.

-"…Please, Jen-Jen? I wanna help!"

-"My sweet, it's too dangerous for you, but I promise I'll bring you a real life star when I come back from the heavens, okay?" Her face lit up like Christmas tree, tears disappearing and smile forming on her lips.

-"Okay!"

-"Okay, then shoo it before I change my mind!" he snapped at her, shooing her away. She happily squealed and jumped back home, excited to see a real life star up close. Oh, the joys of having a Guardian like Jen-Jen!

Jen-Jen ran to the snow globes, putting his hat on harder as he searched for the right globe. He broke it and stepped through the portal, ending up in what we could call "The Heavens". The portal remained open for a while, and Elizabeth couldn't help but peek back. _I don't think a little rule-breaking will hurt me…and he can't take my diary because he already has it. _She smirked and walked through the portal before it completely closed.

-"...Wow!" she gasped, amazed at her surroundings. She looked up and there was nothing but stars and the night sky; she made a turn and yet, there was still nothing but stars and the night sky. Even the floor was nothing but that! Like it was invisible and she was in outer space. But where was Jen-Jen? He owed her a star. She knew she would get lost if she moved from where she stood. But how the heck was she supposed to find Jen-Jen?! She stomped away, frustrated at the lack of a certain duende and a map. She walked and walked until she heard some giggles and laughter. That raised her spirit, and she ran to where the sound came. Surprisingly, there were two teenagers (a boy and a girl) playing tag like little kids and actually having fun. She smiled broadly and couldn't help but join in. She ran to where they were, laughing too.

-"Ha-ha! I wanna play too!"

-"Oh, my…"

-"Who's she? What's she doing in here?" the girl whisper-asked, raising an eyebrow with a worried look. Elizabeth put up a confused expression, too. Did she do something wrong? The boy shook his head at her with a calm face, and kneeled down to her level.

-"Hey, kiddo; what's your name?" he asked, placing a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder.

-"My mom told me that I shouldn't talk to strangers."

-"And she is most right! You're a pretty good girl, Elizabeth. How'd you get in here?" he asked, smirking. The girl furrowed her brow and smiled, like she knew a secret. Elizabeth looked at the boy suspiciously.

-"How do you know my name? Are you a creeper?"

The boy let out a laugh, a very contagious one, and stood up, drying his tears.

-"Heh, creeper, right…no, sweetie, I'm not. Follow us and we'll show you who we are. I think if you see my old man you'll get it…" he said, taking the other girl by the hand and walking away. _No, not loneliness again_! Elizabeth squeaked and ran behind them, then walked, quietly, until they got to a floating door. The boy opened it and revealed a huge library with a huge fireplace and very comfy seats all around a small globe. There were so many books, Elizabeth thought every book ever published from everywhere around the globe was here. She opened her eyes even wider when she saw a familiar figure sitting on a rocking chair, reading.

-"Gaspar!" she said, running to Melchior. Melchior chuckled and sat the girl on his lap, eyes twinkling.

-"Wrong King, Elizabeth; that is Melchior. Mr. Grumpy-gills over there is Gaspar." The teenager said, pointing to the black King. He stuck out his tongue at the boy (now Balthazar) and went back to talking to a familiar duende she was looking for.

-"Jen-Jen!"

-"_Elizabeth?!"_

-"You know this kid, Jen?" asked Gaspar, raising an eyebrow at him, sternly. Jen-Jen squeaked and held his neck. Busted!

-"Mm…I'm sorry! I think the portal remained open when I walked in and then she walked in and it's not my fault, I told her to go home and…!" Melchior halted Jen-Jen's rapid speaking, raising his hand in the air with his eyes closed. Jen-Jen slapped a hand to his mouth, shutting up.

-"What's so wrong with having a girl here?" asked Maria, confused.

-"Yeah, it's not like she can tell the press and get them in here." Balthazar laughed, amused at the thought. Melchior pinched the bridge of his nose in thought, while Gaspar just scoffed loudly

-"Huh! What's wrong, they ask? What's wrong is that it violates our vow of secrecy!"

-"I can keep this secret if you want." Elizabeth said, shyly. Melchior opened his eyes, now knowing what to do.

-"Hmmm, Balthazar is right. A small breaking of the rules will not kill us for once. The girl can stay here for a short while. Her parents will worry if she does not go home before sunset." Melchior decided firmly. Gaspar gawked, unbelieving at the situation. How could they?!

-"Go play with Balto and Maria." Melhior said, softly at the girl.

-"Okay. Come on, Jen-Jen!" she said, jumping off Melchior's lap and taking Jen-Jen by the hand with her. The two teenagers led the girl out of the library while the other two talked.

-"What do you wanna play first, Elizabeth?" asked Balto. She tapped her chin thoughtfully, then snapped her fingers.

-"Let's play hopscotch!"

-"Then so it shall!" Maria said, snapping her fingers. Instantly, the stars moved and positioned themselves like a hopscotch board. One of them fell on Elizabeth's head, which made her giggle. She threw the star and the game began. After a while, she got bored and they played hide and seek. Many other games, including Frisbee throwing, rope jumping and HORSE with a soccer ball, were played. Elizabeth had never had as much fun as she did with these two. And what was best: they were teenagers! All the teenagers she knew were boring, text-messengers and stuff. After a while, they all fell asleep, and after a while, Gaspar walked to the group, now calmer, and shook Elizabeth awake.

-"Huh?"

-"It's me, Elizabeth."

-"Gaspar!" she said, sleepily. She let out a yawn before Gaspar picked her up.

-"You tired?"

-"Was." She answered, laying her head on his shoulder. He chuckled. She reminded him of Ezequias, his was-son. He used to be that cute.

-"Come on, we gotta go home."

-"I don't wanna go home."

-"Oh, but your mother misses you. She called me and said she wanted you home. Besides, we're going to have fun while we're leaving! I have a special way of transporting myself here and there, you know." he explained

-"By portal?"

-"No, silly: by horse." He said. She gasped at the mention of a horse.

-"Really?"

-"Elizabeth, meet Noche." He said, showing her his black as night horse. She softly rubbed his mane, like he was made of glass, and the horse whinnied, making her smile. She loved horses, like…a lot. He mounted her up on Noche's back, having a seat put on already. She was so psyched!

-"Look at me!" she laughed as Gaspar put on the reins.

-"Yes, I'm seeing. I'll just strap him up and we'll be home in…" he said, but couldn't finish his sentence because Elizabeth grabbed the reins and wildly slapped them.

-"Giddy up, Noche!"

-"No, no, no, no, no, wait…!" he tried stopping Noche, but the horse just took off without permission. He ran behind them, waving his arms and trying to get Noche's attention, but the horse just took a wild turn for the border of the heavens and flew off to earth wih a giggling kid on his back. "Oh, no" gaspar muttered as he stared at the place they once stood. Then, he took a run for it.

-"Balto! Balto! Maria, wake up! Elizabeth's gone!" he yelled to the sleeping trio and shaking them all awake. A while later, Balto and Melchior were on their own horses, while Maria just grabbed Jen-Jen and put him in her skirt pocket.

-"I'll stay behind in case they come back. You go check North America and you check South America." Ordered Gaspar, running behind them as they rode to the border.

-"I will check the Caribbean region." Said Melchior. The two horse riders each left for their respected area, while Maria just looked down worriedly. It was her second time flying, and she wasn't so sure she remembered how to land. Cowardice to a side, she took a deep breath and threw herself to the northern winds, managing to steer herself towards the U.S.A, her region to check out. The view was spectacular, and Jen-Jen enjoyed himself pretty well, but Maria was more worried about Elizabeth. They searched high and low, from one Washington to the next, cold places and hot places, and yet there was still no sign of them. Finally, they found Noche and Elizabeth next to a river in a random forest close to New Jersey. Maria landed safely, running to Elizabeth and hugging her tightly, while Jen-Jen paid more attention to the horse.

-"You okay, sweetie?" Maria asked her.

-"Uh-huh."

-"You could've been hurt!"

-"Nuh-uh, Noche is a Guardian horse, he protected me all the way here." Elizabeth explained.

-"Is this true, Noche?" asked Jen-Jen sternly, now on Noche's back. The horse whinnied in response, apparently saying "yes" and lowered his head to get a drink.

-"That's a good boy, Noche!"

-"A Guardian horse? Huh! Can't say I've heard that before." A smooth, shivers-down-spine, boy voice said, walking casually along the Guardians. Maria picked Elizabeth up, giving half her back to the boy defensively. Jen-Jen looked at him and gawked, a little squeak coming out of his throat.

-"_Daniel?!"_

-"Hey, dad. Haven't seen you in a long time." He said darkly, as smoke escaped his cape and grabbed Maria by the ankle.

-"Aah!" she shrieked and tried to shake the shadow off, stepping back. But as Daniel stepped close to her, the shadow crept up her leg, and weakened her. She used her powers against it, but she was too weak once the shadow was half a leg up. All she could do was hug Elizabeth and wait for the worse. Noche stood on its hind legs, prepared to attack Daniel, but he raised a hand and made a shadow cage around the horse, trapping it. Jen-Jen just stood there like an idiot, his mouth gaping and his eyes wide. Maria groaned, still fighting against the shadows that now had control over half her body.

Daniel smirked, and grabbed Maria's neck.

-"Jen-Jen, help!"Elizabeth shrieked

-"Don't expect a thing from that good-for-nothing duende, dear. I know from experience." He spit at her. Elizabeth started to cry, hiding her face in Maria's hair, while she choked and tried to free herself from Daniel's grip with her free arm. He shushed her.

-"It's too late for a fight, Maria. You're already dead." Whack! A whip burned Daniel's arm, and she let Maria go, making her fall to her knees and gasp for air. The shadows that covered her and Noche returned to their owner, who know had a burned arm. Jen-Jen stepped in front of the two girls, whip ready if Daniel tried something else. Only this time, Jen-Jen seemed…taller.

-"Jen-Jen?"

-"That's all you were ever good for, dad!" he took a deep breath before walking closer to a tree shadow nearby.

-"You and your little dust whip won't stop the war that's coming and you know that! Well, so be it, when that time comes, you'll be the first Guardian I finish off!"

-"Leave, Daniel, before I smack the stupid out of ya!" Jen-Jen yelled, man voice popping up. That left Elizabeth and Maria gaping. Since when was Daniel so ho…(clears throat) threatening? Daniel glared at his father before disappearing into the shadow. Jen-Jen let the whip go, it turning into dust, and kneeled down next to Maria, hugging her.

-"You okay, Maria?" he asked, voice soft and yet manly. She nodded, shocked at Jen-Jen's new appearance. In short, he was now the size of an adult man, and he even sounded like an adult, not the small squeaky duende voice that characterized him. He took a too-surprised-to-speak Elizabeth and got her on Noche, him next.

-"You better go warn the others about Daniel. If I know him well, this ain't gonna be pretty."

-"Yeah, and once you get to the heavens, you better explain the whole father/son thing going on, not to mention your new height and voice." She said, raising an eyebrow harshly at him and taking off. Jen-Jen rubbed his temples, knowing what was going to him. A long, long night… a slight snore caught his attention, and he saw Elizabeth had fallen asleep. How she got to sleep so quickly, he didn't know, so he just rode off to New Jersey to leave her home.

He arrived at dusk, the sun barely visible in the horizon. The first stars; those stars kids wish on, were shining in the sky, twinkling in the silence. The neighborhood Elizabeth lived in was pretty quiet at night, unless it was New Years. And anyway, why was Jen-Jen to worry about waking anyone up? He took the girl in his arms and left her in the front door, knocking three times and stepping back to see what would happen. Elizabeth's mom opened the door, saying things in Spanish, relieved and surprised, and taking the girl inside, Jen-Jen's presence passing undetected. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head and said, "You're welcome" before getting on Noche again.

-"Now that that's over, let's go to the heavens, Noche! I got some really extensive explaining to do." he said, annoyed, and rode Noche back to the heavens.

**A/N: Okay, so this chapter serves for two things: one, to explain who Daniel is better (but not enough, that's for other chapters) and two, to kind of have fun writing and finish chapter 7 for once! It's been a year since my last update! I'm so EVIL! Well, anyway, Happy New Year 2013! Hope you all drank lots of cider and saw lots of fireworks and had the best time, and enjoy the chapter. And I forgot for almost 7 chapters. DOUBLE EVIL! Thanks to Storyteller77, Bunny's daughter, QuirkyRevelations, that Guest that said Maria was Tooth (where did he/she get THAT idea?), Lady Santos, Wintershock, Aku-hai, mizuokami, GusCGC, hinata2120 and whoever is going to review, follow, favorite or just plain love. Thanks for the reviews. It really motivated me, and I didn't thank you all before publically because I'm a scattered brain mess like Tooth. :P You guys are the best!**


	8. Xanino

Chapter 8: Xanino

Melchior, Gaspar, Balthazar and Maria all stared at the basketball sized globe in front of them. Pop! A black light appeared right over New Jersey. Pop! Another one in Argentina. They kept popping up in random places over America and Spain, and even one appeared in China. It was like a black plague invading earth piece by piece.

"This is bad." Balto said, nodding his head slightly. Suddenly, the library doors slammed open, two legendary figures appearing in the doorstep: Jen-Jen and Perez. The mouse was in Jen-Jen's hand, since he was still adult sized.

"You brought the mouse?" Gaspar asked, leaving the globe.

"Did Maria tell you we were attacked by a shadow?" said Jen-Jen ignoring the black guardian. The three kings shook their heads, looking at Maria with furrowed brows. She shrugged, laughing nervously.

"Kind of forgot."

"I was attacked too! In Juncos! A shadow boy came and took my last coin, making the boy stop believing." Perez explained, getting a gasp from Maria.

"I'm so sorry."

"Not only that, the boy now believes in El Cuco!" Perez squeaked, unaware of Jen-Jen's deep blush.

"That's kind of my fault."

"What do you mean, Jen-Jen?" asked Melchior, crossing his arms.

"The shadow that attacked us, the Fearling that out of nowhere came, and the reason we have this mess…is my son."

_500 years before the previous chapter…_

_The rain poured over Spain furiously, threatening to flood any street and crack any rock. But Sarai didn't care. She had to get rid of her child before the other xanas knew of him. Being so small, she had the advantage of the shadows, so no stray human could see her. After a while of wandering around and looking for baby cribs and open windows, she found the perfect house: the family had their first born son, like her. Cautiously, she opened the window of the baby boy's room and jumped in, peeking over at the crib. She was soaked, so she left a small trail of water behind her. It was awake and cooing, like all babies do, and her heart broke. How could she be so cruel to her own son? Leaving the poor thing when it wasn't even a few weeks old? But she had to leave it. Xanas can't feed their young and the other xanas could kill her if they found out from who it was…With tears streaming down her cheeks, she uncovered her cape and looked at her bundled up son. Unlike her, he was dry, and peacefully sleeping. She sobbed once and kissed his forehead, ready for the good-bye. But a familiar voice interrupted._

_"You decided to listen to your sister?" she turned around, looking at the voice's source: Jen-Jen, the creator of this whole mess._

_"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be stealing some child's favorite toy or something?" she asked, with a heavy Spanish accent. He shrugged and landed on the floor, sprinkling dust on both of them. Instantly, they both grew the size of adults, except the child, who grew the size of a baby. She sighed, annoyed._

_"I'm here to stop a xanas from making the world's dumbest decision._

_"I took the decision ninemonths ago. I'm trying to set things right now."_

_"Come on, Sarai. He's not your son only, he's also mine. Besides, I thought we'd have the responsibility of caring for him together."_

_"What do you know of responsibility? You were the one who said he didn't want the load of a child!"_

_"Shh, lower your voice."_

_"Sorry. Por amor a la luna, Jen-Jen! I'm desperate. The other xanas will kill me if I don't do . You weren't called here, anyway."_

_"I'm a nosy duende, deal with it. Before you do anything stupid… will you give me the child to care for?" he asked softly, lowering his head. She gasped, surprised. Was he tricking her again? Like that night? She held the baby against her chest defensively as she thought this through, but Jen-Jen had other plans._

_"I'm not kidding. I don't want the kid to suffer the same fate as the other xanino's. Please." He added, stretching his arms. She looked at her baby. It was true; she also didn't want the baby to suffer the same fate. But Jen-Jen? A father? Never in anyone's dreams would he be responsible enough! She sighed. She was desperate, though. Reluctantly, she handed the baby over to him. He smiled._

_"Thank you. Was it that hard?" he teased._

_"No empieces or he's coming back. He doesn't have a name, though."_

_"No? What irresponsibility! And you call yourself a mother?"_

_"Please, take good care of him." She pleaded. Jen-Jen stared at the baby boy, all father love sick for him already. He was his boy: his son. The baby looked at lot like him, he even had his hair! When he looked up, Sarai was gone._

_"Humph. Typical. Well, baby, what name shall I grant you?" he asked as he sprinkled some dust over them. A mystical shield covered them, and he jumped out the window, the rain bumping with the shield and protecting them from getting wet. He threw a snow-globe (one of the many others he had) and walked through the portal, ending up in his house._

_He threw some dust at a chair, and it bended and twisted until it turned into a crib, comfy mattress and all. He placed the baby in the crib and started rocking it, staring at the baby. It was daytime where he was, so he had all day to think up a good name for the baby. But the name came without warning._

_"Daniel! Did you take your sister's shoes?" a woman voice yelled from the house next to Jen-Jen's cottage. Inspiration slapped Jen-Jen like a furious girl._

_"That will be your name! Daniel Jen. Did you know my name is actually first and second name? My name is Jen and my second name is Jen, so you will be Daniel Jen! Lovely." he whispered, looking at the baby once more. The baby opened its eyes, revealing two beautiful blue orbs._

_"You have your mother's eyes." Jen-Jen added, smiling. Man, what a Harry Potter reference!_

**Back in the present…**

"Let me get this straight, Jen-Jen: your son, your recently revealed son, the son no one knew about after 500 years son…is what made the kid stop believing?" Gaspar asked, raising an eyebrow menacingly at the duende. Jen-Jen scratched the back of his head and sighed, still in his adult human form.

"Uh…yeah."

"YOU ARE SO DEAD RIGHT NOW, JEN!" screamed Gaspar, grabbing Jen-Jen's neck and shaking him like a Simpson cartoon. It took Balto, Maria, Melchior and a small tug from Perez to separate them.

"Ack! Not my fault…ack! That girl was all over me, how could I say no?" Jen-Jen said, rubbing his neck and coughing.

"You were a damn Guardian! You know Guardians can't have children! If I could just twist that neck of yours…" snarled Gaspar, while Balto and Melchior had a tight grip on his arms.

"Gaspar, enough! This is not the time to be arguing and grabbing each other's necks!" said Melchior, holding Gaspar back.

"What's gotten into you, Gaspar?!" yelled Maria, also holding him by the sandal.

"You're such a jerk, Jen! How could you break that promise?! You promised to leave your old life aside for children!"

"What promise?" asked Maria, suddenly letting go; making Gaspar fall face first along with Melchior and Balthazar.

"Remember last year when you made the Guardian Oath and that turned you into a Guardian, Maria? Not only do you swear to protect children, you're also giving up the life you had before. Normally, Guardians swear after they die, like me, so we don't have a problem leaving who we were behind. But some Guardians, like Jen-Jen, are chosen alive and they have it a little harder than we do; so if you're a drunken womanizing elf with just a hint of emotional unstableness, then you'd have to leave the alcohol and the women and remain pure for the rest of eternity." Balthazar explained, making Jen-Jen feel more embarrassed than he was before.

"You were a womanizer?" Maria raised an eyebrow, surprised and amused at the recent fact.

"He was a heart breaker! He had more women behind him than clothes in his wardrobe!" Melchior laughed.

"Shut up, Milk."

"He was chosen to protect Lessons, but he forgot to learn one himself: keeping promises." Gaspar growled, already glaring at the duende, who shrunk with every comment.

"I'm sorry! I didn't think things through at that time! I thought I could handle both jobs…"

"And what did you do with the poor boy, huh? Hide him in a closet for 500 years?"

"Gaspar, stop it." Maria said sternly holding onto his shoulder tightly. Gaspar yanked his shoulder from her grip and took a deep breath, calming down.

"Good. Now that we have that covered, we need a plan." Melchior asked, hiding his wrinkled hands in his pockets.

**In Burgess…**

The sky was grey and the air was cold and moist. Then, like magic, it started to snow, slowly and gently, sprinkling over the forest ground delicately. Daniel raised his head up to the sky and smiled. He hadn't seen snow in a long time, making his pranks and practicing his malicious shadow puppetry over in Latin America, where it normally doesn't snow, so it was a pretty sight for sore eyes. With a sigh, he kept his walk towards the lair of the Nightmare King, hopes high and head low. Once he got to the bed frame, he slid under it and let himself fall through the tunnel like he'd done it a hundred times.

Thump. He landed right in the prison room, where all the cages hung, now empty and screaming for prisoners. Some years ago, this was filled with Night Mares and Fearlings, all wailing and running around, full of life and desire to spread fear. But now, the lair had a dead silence surrounding every corner. Spooky. He took a few steps before bumping with exactly the spirit of fear he was looking for: Pitch. He was sitting in front of the globe, looking up to it like searching for answers. Daniel cocked his head to the side and sneered.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Nightmare King himself. Pitch Black!" he said, his arms to the side as a greeting. Pitch stood up in a jolt, surprised and startled at the boy's sudden appearance. From the shadows on the floor, some Fearlings crept up, flying towards Daniel and wrapping themselves on his leg, almost welcoming. This intrigued Pitch, who looked at the boy confused.

"The Fearlings all flee to you like mosquitoes."

"What can I say? They dig me."

"I suggest you lower your ego from the clouds, boy. You don't know who you're messing with."

"Oh, I know well who I'm messing with; my equal." He said, stretching his arm towards Pitch. From his hands, a shadow swirled and dropped to the ground, materializing into fear sand. Pitch observed in awe as the sand formed into the figure of Jack Frost. It kept creating figures, standing upright and emotionless, like North, Aster, Sandy, and even some figures Pitch hadn't seen in centuries, like the Perez mouse and Balthazar. And a new, winged girl he barely recognized

"Who is she…?" he asked, curiously extending his hand to touch the girl's face.

"Her? She's Maria, the new Latin Guardian. I think she's the Guardian of Innocence or something, I can't remember."

"This is quite impressive. How did you learn to create the sand?"

"Like you did: patience and a little cheating." Pitch turned to the boy, a very hard-to-read expression in his face. He crossed his arms and stood straight, towering over the boy like a boss.

"What's your name?" he asked, slightly nodding his head.

"Daniel. Daniel Jen."

"Daniel Jen. Tell me, Daniel, why are you here? You certainly didn't come to amuse me with figures of Guardians, which by the way only disgusts me. What's your purpose here?"

"Easy; team up with the biggest pain in the neck the Guardians have ever faced and even up the scores. You want fear to rule the world once more; I want revenge over the Latin Guardians. You want revenge over the American Guardians; I want to make kids suffer nightmares. We kind of have the same interests here."

Pitch scratched his chin thoughtfully, taking in what the boy was saying. He must be a very tortured soul to come to him so desperately. And the boy did have some power he didn't, not with the butt-kick he got years earlier from Jack Frost and his crew. The offer was tempting.

"And how can I be sure you are worthy of my alliance?"

Daniel's mouth twisted into a sly smirk, while his hand rolled up into a fist, the figures of fear sand returning to its owner.

"You do fear, but you're more concentrated in kids fears." Daniel began explaining as the sand sucked into the corners of his fingers until there was none. Then, He rolled his hand open again, literal shadowy smoke rising up like a screen in front of Pitch. In it there was a reflection of all the fears of the Guardians: a sound of cracking ice and a splash, images of shattered egg shells, an empty tooth canister, and so many other images. Lastly, there was a car horn and two lights that were getting nearer and nearer to Pitch until the smoke just burst and dissipated, showing the cloaked boy once again.

"I can do better than that; I have Guardian fears, the second most powerful kind of fear there is. What do you say? Shall we break a deal?" Daniel extended his open hand. Pitch took a deep breath and bit his lower lip, thinking it through. Oh, the temptation of feeling powerful again! This boy, this Daniel Jen, knew his way around him, as if he'd been all his life knowing him. Daniel wiggled his fingers, nervousness threatening to consume him if Pitch didn't say yes soon. All his life waiting for this…

Pitch grabbed the boy's hand and instantly his spirit rose. A shock of power crept from his arm to the rest of his body, as if Daniel were a battery charger.

"Daniel **_Black_**…you just got yourself a deal."

**A/N: Thanks to ConfusedSoAmI for joining the review club and giving me that piece of advice. Back to the story, this one came out dull. I'm not sure what to think of it. But the next one might come out better. This next chapter is when the action starts. The battle between the two spirits of fear and the six Latin Guardians, if I don't use the American ones too. Damn, eleven versus two. That's not fair...what do you guys think?**


	9. Angel de la Guardia

Chapter 9: Angel de la Guardia

Elizabeth clutched her trusty teddy bear to her chest and watched every shadow in her room like they were about to come alive. In a way, it always could be true. She'd seen the evil in the shadow boy's eyes when he grabbed Maria' neck and threatened to squeeze the life out of her. Not to mention she could still feel the cold shadows tugging her hair and poking at her skin. She shuddered and covered her head with the sheets, determined to fall asleep, whether her eyes wanted to or not.

"Ángel de mi Guarda

_Mi dulce compañía_

_No me desampares _

_Ni de noche ni de día"_

She prayed, whispering every word with faith and blind confidence. That prayer had served her well in her life; for when grandma died, when dad flew away for a whole year, when she got sick in the hospital…that prayer was a life saver. But now she was beginning to doubt her own safety blanket. Was a prayer really going to keep her safe from Daniel? She certainly hoped so. Her eyes started getting heavier, though closed, and in a train of thoughts one would think is for adults, she fell asleep. But the blissful darkness didn't last forever.

She felt herself being dragged and picked up, but her eyes didn't open. Fear started bubbling in her chest, and she tried clutching her teddy bear, but it wasn't there. That's when panic struck. She snapped her eyes open, taking deep breaths, but instead started hyperventilating after seeing she wasn't in her room anymore. She wasn't even in her house. She was sky high up, in a black shadow cage like the one that had trapped Noche, watching the lights from her neighborhood and hearing the roar of the wind as the cage flew higher and higher. Suddenly, a freaky face she knew too well popped from the side, smiling like a madman at her.

"Aah!"

"Hi, battery charger!" he yelled, laughing and zooming away before the cage lowered with a thump on somewhere. She shuffled to the bars of the cage, trying to see where she was. Then she wished she hadn't. She was inside a mess of black clouds, grey clouds, thunder, lightning, and everything spooky for a brontophobic like her. Then, a sinister figure even scarier than Daniel peeked into the cage, staring intently at her, like he was thinking in where to bite first. She whined and started crying like a smaller child would, covering her face with her knees, making the figure smile.

"You were right, Daniel: she's the most cowardly girl I've seen." Elizabeth shot her head up, tears decorating her cheeks already as she heard the statement.

"Ha! I told you! Let's have some fun before the morning sun rises!" yelled Daniel, twisting his wrist and then shooting it towards the neighborhood, sending shots of nightmares and Fearlings to every house, including hers. She gasped. _Now was the best time for your prayer, Eli_! She thought. So she did as her instincts told her to. She clapped her hands together and began praying quickly, desperately, whispering rapid Spanish, "_AngeldemiGuardamidulcecompañ ianomedesamparesnidenochenid edia, AngeldemiGuardamidulcecompañ ianomedesamparesnidenochenid edia, AngeldemiGuardamidulcecompañ ianomedesamparesnidenochenid edia…" _

* * *

Miles away, even higher up above her, a certain angel sat on a rocking chair, two hands on her temples, listening to Jen-Jen and Gaspar fight about morals and promises. Not to mention women and adult things Guardians shouldn't even whisper. A slight growl escaped her lips before she felt anxiety threaten to eat her up. She sat upright with a jolt, a sharp gasp accompanying it. Balthazar shot next to her, worried sick.

"You okay, Maria?"

"Balto…Elizabeth's in trouble."

"W-w-what?!" Jen-Jen squeaked, rushing to her side. She gripped at her head and the chair, a headache threatening to burst her head. She could hear Elizabeth's whispers, desperate and fearful, but she wished she could calm down!

"I mean...argh...I..." she stuttered.

"Guys, the globe! Maria's right!" Perez squeaked, like Jen-Jen, as he scampered to the basketball globe. New Jersey's lights were turning off, Virginia's lights were turning off, New York, North Carolina, and shall I go on? Gaspar gulped, looking at Melchior worriedly.

"This ain't good."

"Guys, my chosen child! We have to go, now!" Jen-Jen said, fatherly instincts kicking in all of a sudden.

"As much as it hurts, he's right. We have to go. Balto, let go of Maria! She isn't a toy." Gaspar said, watching with a serious face at the two. Balto eep-ed and got up, letting her go quickly from the startle. Maria groaned and got up, holding her head.

"Ugh, it's getting worse."

"Let us leave now! Jen-Jen, you shall ride with Gaspar; Maria, ride with Balto, since you are unable to fly on your own..." Melchior started as the rest began leaving the library to the stables. Perez blinked twice, seeing the whole party doing their thing...without him.

"Hey, guys wait up!" he said, running off too. The guys all got on the horses, commenting and threatening stuff, while Perez tried to stop them. He kicked the horse's hooves, jumped as high as he could, and even tried biting Noche: but to no avail. The horses all took off, running to the border as quick as a horse could ride.

"Hurry up, Noche, you Guardian horse! Elizabeth needs help!"

"No, esperen, no me dejen! I'm still here! Hey! Guys..." Too late. They were gone in an instant. He scowled, clenching his fists at the sudden loneliness, but then his knees succumbed to sadness. He was reminded how small and useless he was. It was true. All he was and all he'll ever be was a little mouse. Heck, he didn't even have a weapon! How was he to save not just the kids, but belief in them?

"Need any help?"

Perez yelped and jumped a few feet away from the voice, startled at the surprise visit. One close look was all it took to recognize...

"Quetz?"

"The one and only!" It said, stretching high and proud, showing off its colorful feathers. Yes, it was Quetzalcoatl, or like the Latin's kindly know him, Quetz.

"But, how...? Why are you here?"

"Hey, I'm a Guardian too, you know. Besides, I heard you need help."

"Yes, I remember how nosy you are." Perez smiled, showing his two front teeth. Quetz gasped, offended and glared at the mouse.

"You dare call me nosy when I just want to help? Heck, I was even thinking in bringing your old body back!" she said angrily, her nose brushing his as she got closer to his face. Perez choked on his words, taken aback by the statement.

"M-my b-b-body? My old body?" he stuttered, excitement creeping up his voice. She huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Uh, yeah! The Latin's don't need a mouse, they need Roberto Elias Perez!" she added.

"But my body was burned! How are you to give it back?"

"P-Shaw! Nothing an old spirit like me can't handle. You want the deal or not?"

"Yes!" he yelled, standing up eager.

"Okay!" she cracked her head and stared into the mouse's eyes.

"Now stay still and hold your breath."

* * *

The cloud was exactly what Daniel loved: a fear palace. It rumbled and thundered and flashed with lightning. Rain poured down like bullets over their skin, and the mist could barely let them see where they were going. Not only that, the substance the clouds were made of, other than mist and sand, was shadows, and they literally could claw the horse's hooves and legs and were left intact by their kicks. The spookiest battlefield ever, thought Jen-Jen. It didn't stop them, though, for Maria recovered from her headache and lit up like a Christmas tree, indicating Gaspar and Milk where to go amidst the fog and the shadows. They followed her glow to the center of the place, which was, obviously, dry and safe. Elizabeth's panicked screams filled the air as Daniel and Pitch had fun creating terrible nightmares and spread them like a disease.

"Man, I love my job!" Daniel said, jumping like a kid in a toy store. Pitch chuckled at the sight, but his smile faded away as he saw the three horses fly into their territory. That didn't get his cool down, though.

"My, my, Daniel! Look what the wind brought to us!" he said, alerting his new pupil. Daniel stopped jumping and turned to Pitch, only to be greeted by the sight of his father and the rest of the Latin crew. He smiled wickedly, knowing exactly what to do.

"If it isn't my dad, coming to see my work! You must be proud of the power in your son..." Daniel started, but then felt something wrap around his ankle and swoop him up, then slam him down hard on the ground.

"Ugh! What the…?" he started, but couldn't even finish when he was swooped up again and slammed three times again.

"Hijo! De! Perra! Maldita sea, why did I even make you my son?!" Jen-Jen screamed, full of rage against the teenager. He pulled him closer and grabbed the collar of his shirt, glaring intensely into his eyes.

"You took my chosen child, and I don't care if you're my own blood, I'll kill you with my own hands!" he menaced darkly, but didn't fulfill his threat thanks to an arrow of black sand entering his shoulder. He let Daniel go and fell sideways on the ground, rolling face up with a painful wince.

"Daniel, go to the prisoner." Pitch ordered. Daniel, still shocked and a tad hurt by Jen-Jen's words, nodded and obeyed, running to Elizabeth's jail cell, where Maria was already, trying to break her free.

"Lesson number one, stupid duende: never threaten a fear spirit's student."

"Ay, no jodas, idiota." Jen-Jen spat, wheezing a little from the pain. Man, was Pitch going to celebrate killing that duende! Gaspar pushed Pitch aside, and helped Jen-Jen up.

"You better put that whip of yours to use, Jen." Gaspar advised, taking his own weapon of choice and slashing it over to Pitch, who made a sand sword and began fighting with him. Jen-Jen grunted, then turned to see Maria and Daniel fighting.

"Maria!" he yelled, running to her, but was stopped by a Night Mare, whinnying furiously at him.

**A/N: Thanks to Storyteller and QuirkyRevelations for the previous reviews. Hugs and chocolate chip cookies for both of you. :)**


	10. Epic

Chapter 10: Epic

Jen-Jen stared right into the horse's black eyes, while it balanced on its hind legs, looking for the right place to hit. The horse threw itself at Jen-Jen, attacking him like Noche had attacked Gaspar, but the adult-sized duende didn't let the horse get the better of him. No sir! He drew his whip and swung it around the horse's neck, tying it and pulling back, making the horse retreat in anger. It shook its neck and head, trying desperately and furiously to escape, but in one painfully swift pull, the horse was decapitated; turning into dust and returning to the ground it had come from.

Jen-Jen laughed, and then groaned from the sting in his shoulder, when a fear creature grabbed his ankle and another jumped on his shoulder, biting hard on the stab.

"Aargh!"

"Jen-Jen!" a voice yelled. A punch from a fellow Guardian managed to get the creature on Jen-Jen's back off and flying away. He turned back to see Balto, with his own weapon, throwing at his ankle and destroying the Fearling hanging from it.

"Balto!"

"Didn't Gaspar tell you to use your whip? Duck!" Balthazar lowered Jen-Jen by the head, throwing at an incoming Fearling with his fling. It was a very infantile weapon, indeed, but it was incredibly useful for the teenager. He shot three rocks at the inky black creature, disintegrating it immediately with three blasts. Jen-Jen nodded at Balthazar, running towards Elizabeth's cage, leaving the boy to deal on his own. _The boy is capable enough_, Jen-Jen thought.

Meanwhile, Maria tried with all her strength and wit to break open Elizabeth's cage. She kicked, she punched, she pulled on the bars, she pushed on a wall and she tried her powers, but nothing worked! The cage was as hard as stone! Elizabeth's shrieks and cries broke Maria's heart every time, but there was nothing she could apparently do!

"Maria, get me out of here!" Elizabeth cried, stretching her hand out the bars, frightened at all the monsters pulling on her pajamas and scratching at her legs. Maria took the girl's hand, still searching for some crack along the cage walls with the other.

"I know, I know, Elizabeth, just…"

"I'm scared! I'm really scared, Maria, help!" this time, Elizabeth only cried in fright, looking at Maria with the most desperate look a child could bring up. It was pure torture for Maria. She took a deep breath, and passed her hand through the bars, placing her hand in Elizabeth's cheek to try and comfort her, if she couldn't open the cage.

"Sh, sh, sh, don't worry. I promise I'll get you out, you…you just have to believe in me." Maria said, forcing a smile, though inside she just wanted to cry with her.

Elizabeth had actually smiled hearing that. All children do when words of safety reach their ears in a crisis. But the sinister chuckle that followed only made the little girl's smile disappear, foiling Maria's small victory.

"When have I heard that phrase before, hm? Oh yeah! All Guardians say that when kids are about to DIE." Daniel said, standing on top of the cage with his arms crossed and his sword floating just next to him. Elizabeth yelped at the mention of death, but Maria only shook her head softly.

"You're nobody to be saying those things, Daniel. Don't say what you don't know."

"Hm. You're right. I'm not a Gardian. Oh, but my father told me all about it! Special creatures, special people, chosen to protect the world and its children from spirits like me. Spirits of fear. But! Fear is made to protect! Did you not know? That's the Boogieman's job! But you guy shave squished us aside, changing protective fear with all those stupid fairy tales about you. Imaginative feats to cover dangerous habits and terrible sins…"

"What are you…?"

"So, I ask you, Maria, that you are new to the business and don't know enough for your own good: who are the real Guardians here? Protecting fear spirits, that give nightmares about lighting matches and falling off roofs like me; or ignorant, novice angels, who can't even open cages to set free little girls, like you?"

"Shut up!" Maria was up to her nose in Daniel's smooth talk. With her powers, she created a pair of sai and threw one at Daniel in fury.

Daniel narrowly managed to avoid getting sliced by the sai, but when he did, he didn't hesitate in grabbing his sword and jumping off the cage, clashing his sword with her remaining sai. Now Elizabeth was really scared!

"Stop it!"

"Listen to your child, Maria! And surrender."

"Never! You're no Guardian, Daniel; you just use your powers for satisfaction, not protection! You should be ashamed of having real Guardian blood running through your veins!" Maria spat, her hands trembling under her grip of her sai and the pressure Daniel had against it.

"Oh, really?! I wasn't the one who let my little sister die splatted by a Jeep on Christmas Eve!" Daniel spit back, overpowering the angel easily. Maria hesitated on her next move, shocked at hearing the memory of her death. Daniel took that hesitation as opportunity and swung his sword through her stomach, scratching it deeply. She gasped in pain and fell backwards. As soon as her body hit the floor, the sand and shadows that made the ground they stepped on began to swirl around her ankles, legs and arms, preventing any escape.

"Ugh! Let me go!" she grunted, but then let out a frightened gasp, watching in heart-stopping fear the malice in Daniel's eyes. It was clear what was going to happen now: Daniel was going to kill her. But all villains like to make their victims suffer a while, so Daniel smirked and began to speak in story-teller mode.

"Remember the time, Maria? You tried so hard for the Jeep to stop before it hit little Lucia, but, tsk, tsk…it was all for naught. They didn't listen. So you put yourself in the front to receive the bump instead of the girl. Aw, how sweet of you!" he laughed, toying with his sword as he spoke. Maria's breathing was becoming faster, her chest going up and down in fear. She remembered; she remembered clearly, she'd even replayed the scene in her mind when the first Fearling had appeared at the library a few days ago.

"Stop it! Shut up, I don't wanna hear!" she shrieked, tears escaping her eyes. Daniel merely chuckled at the sight.

"Big sister Maria died saving her little sister. But do you know what happened after the lights went dark that night? The Jeep splatted her too! None of you survived! The damages on her little three-year old body were so severe the lid on her casket was down the whole funeral!"

"That's not true! It can't be true!"

"It is so! But I'm a merciful man, Maria…" he smiled. Elizabeth squeaked pathetically in her cage, watching the whole scene before her with wide opened eyes. The monsters in her cage didn't matter to her now. Her Guardian…was in front of her, suffering. And she could do nothing. Daniel raised his sword high in the air, blade down, and finished,

"Now you can see her again!"

"NO!"

"Sweet dreams, Maria!" he yelled, stabbing her heart without the mercy he had promised. Maria choked on a scream; the strands letting her go all of a sudden.

The damage was done: the only way to kill an angel is to stab it in the heart.

"Maria!" Elizabeth screamed in terror, the monsters in her cage definitely not mattering anymore. The storm outside roared and rumbled louder, breaking the protective shield that prevented the rain from coming in. So, above all the fighting, all the grunts, all the sword clashing, whip smacking, war screams, fear screams, blood, tears and sweat…now there was thunder, lightning and rain.

Maria's eyes went blank, her head collapsing on the floor, her breathing becoming raspy and slow. Daniel chuckled and picked his sword from her chest, making her gasp and cough some blood. He kneeled next to her, whispering in her ear,

"Say hi to Lucia when you see her." then placed a kiss on her neck and stood up again, raising an eyebrow at the devastated child in the cage. Elizabeth thought she wasn't going to sleep ever again. But the fight was barely beginning!

"Oh, now you did it, bastard!" Daniel heard behind him, and looked back, greeted by a rope tying around his neck and pulling him away from Maria's body. Elizabeth gasped too, but because she was so glad Jen-Jen was gonna beat the fluff out of Daniel.

"You know that promise I told you before Pitch threw an arrow at my shoulder? I think I'm going to do exactly that!" Jen-Jen snarled, pulling tight on his whip, choking Daniel as hard as he could. Daniel grabbed at his neck, choking and ack-ing, but had a different idea and punched Jen-Jen on the mouth, the dust whip disintegrating mysteriously. The duende fell on his back, giving Daniel time to breathe and stand his guard.

Jen-Jen spit out some blood and stood up too, stumbling a little with his fists at the ready.

"Bring it on, Danny!" he yelled, nodding his head up once. Daniel growled and lunged forward, turning the once "weapon only" fight into an all-out man-to-man war. It was obvious: they wanted to rip their heads off.

"Die already, miserable duende!" Daniel grunted, grabbing his father's neck and squeezing it tight, giving him a piece of his own medicine. Jen-Jen did a raspy sound from the bottom of his throat, something like an "arck!" before taking a hold of Daniel's shoulders.

"Look who's talking, xanas boy!" Jen-Jen threw Daniel to the side, inverting their positions and giving him the advantage. Daniel let his neck go, Jen-Jen grabbing his shirt collar with one hand and punching his face with the other.

"What (punch) did (punch) I (punch) do to make you kill Maria, huh?! What makes you want to kill me?!" he asked, doing punch pauses between words.

"Nothing!" Daniel pushed him off of him, kicking him on the ribs and creating a new sad sword with his powers. Jen-Jen rushed to his bag, throwing some dust to the floor, making a sword of his own before Daniel sliced him open. Clang! The sword did the fighting for them now, but Jen-Jen wasn't done with his questions.

"Exactly! I did nothing wrong! Why are you doing this, Daniel?!" the boy remained silent, letting his rage blow against his father with every strike. Jen was frustrated by now, so he gave the boy one more strike before yelling,

"Answer me!"

"Because you did nothing!" the boy answered, his voice not the menacing tone it had been; his voice broke, and the sword blade touched the ground rather than his father's sword. Jen was about to strike him, but paused mid-attack, intrigued with the sudden change in attitude. Daniel took a deep, shaky breath and began screaming,

"You did nothing! You were never there, that's why! You…you never paid any attention, you never appreciated my existence! While I was at home, waiting for dad to play with me or at least pat my head, he was off DRINKING AND STEALING THINGS FROM KIDS!"

"That's not true, I left the drink, and..."

"Where were you when I had nightmares at night?!" Daniel yelled, interrupting him. Jen stumbled back, taken by surprise, his previous raising sins coming back to haunt.

"Where were you when I was sick? Where were you on my birthdays? Where the HELL WERE YOU when that bitch you call sweetheart beat the stupid out of me at eight?! You abandoned me to my luck as soon as I hit five! I don't even know why you even wanted a child like me around! You…you…" Daniel's cheeks were red, his eyes were watered up and he seemed so weak, so hurt and so, how to put it? LITTLE, Jen-Jen's heart broke. Did he really let all those things slip from his mind for 500 years? 18 years are bad for humans, 500 is worse for duende's!

Jen-Jen wanted so badly to forget all that and just hug him, he tried opening his mouth to say something, but Daniel wasn't finished.

"Then! You replace me with Elizabeth…" Ouch. That hit the spot. Jen-Jen shook his head at that and walked closer to the boy, but he just flinched back.

"Danny, no…"

"DON'T DENY IT!" that shrill scream from Daniel was scary. It sounded like a wild animal that wanted to rip him piece by piece away. But Jen was still in one piece, so he thought he was okay.

"Danny, I never replaced you, I-I just clicked with her, that's all…"

"No…no, it was more than that, more than just "Guardian business". You paid the attention that was supposed to be mine to her, all the time! And whenever other Guardians came to visit, don't think I don't know, you'd always send me somewhere else so they wouldn't know about me!" He took a deep breath to try to keep his cool, but he'd already lost it a second ago, so he just continued, "The night I tried my fear powers on Elizabeth, you ran to her room and sang her a lullaby in her sleep. She might not remember! But I do…"

"Well, she's my chosen child: I can't just leave her, I have to protect her…"

"You never sang ME a lullaby! I! I…was your first chosen child, dad…" Daniel said, voice so broken, it sounded like glass. Jen-Jen gulped, scratching the back of his head, unsure what to say. So he stuttered,

"I...I never thought that...I-I'm sorry..."

"Heh. You expect a sorry to make up for those 500 years you wasted?"

"I hoped so, but what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to DIE!" the conversation ended beautifully. Jen-Jen's hat got sliced in two with a swing of Daniel's blade. Awesome.

"Oh, now it's war, sonny boy! That was my favorite hat!" he growled, dropping his sword and jumping like a cat over the boy, attacking him with scratches, punches and bites.

Elizabeth shuffled to a side of the cage and looked with her eyes for the rest of her Guardians. But they were all busy. Gaspar was fightig Pitch, Melchior and Balthazar were trying to control the fear all over, Maria was dead (why-y-y-y?!) and Jen-Jen was fighting Daniel. But there was one missing...

"Perez!" she screamed, but the scream mixed with another sound.

The roar of a dragon.

**A/N: Done! Finally, chapter 10! One day before Valentine's Day. If nothing happens today and tomorrow, I _might_ have some nice fluff for the next chapter. Might, don't be surprised if I don't. Life just likes to poke its nose whe no one calls him. XD It's my first try at angst, violence, fights and all that hullabaloo that involves wars, so... What do you think? Am I going too quick? Or is it perfect? Cookies ad chocolates and Valentine's day goodies come with reviews!...:P**


	11. Epic part 2

Chapter 11: Epic part 2

Elizabeth had to squish her head to the corner of her cage bars to see what that sound was. And what a surprise to see. A huge, soaked feathered serpent appeared flying in, roaring, hissing and throwing multicolored flames from its mouth. But it wasn't alone. On its back stood a man with smudged paint on his face, thanks to the rain, and yielded a club he used to smack Fearlings right in the face! And was this other noise she heard…sleigh bells?

"Santa?"

"Back-up!" Gaspar smiled before Pitch's huge hammer hit his head. He flew out of sight, scraping the wet sandy ground with his teeth. He managed to spit a few and turn around before he met Pitch's glare. A smirk tugged at his lips before he turned his hammer into a bow and arrow.

"This'll be quick…" he muttered, pointing at Gaspar's chest and shooting an arrow at it. Gaspar closed his eyes tight, readying himself for the impact, but was surprised when all he heard was sand cracking and going poof and the whoosh of a boomerang.

"Oi! Ya don't mess with my mate 'ere!" Bunnymund growled, grabbing his previous boomerang from the air and throwing both of them at Pitch. The Nightmare King retreated a few steps, unsure what to do for a few seconds before a boomerang hit his head…twice.

"Ow!"

"Need a lift?" a paw stretched in front of Gaspar, who just laughed. It was Aster! Gaspar stared at the 6 foot tall rabbit, which had a smirk in his face. Then he turned his head to the sleigh, still in the air, with the rest of the American Division; Toothiana, Nick, and the newest member, Jack Frost. Not that he knew the kid too well, but all help was good. Sandy was nowhere to be found, but if an explosion of golden light faraway was any clue, the golden man was also around.

Gaspar smiled, taking Bunnymund's paw and standing up, nodding his head once. They both turned to Pitch, who held his hammer tight in his grip, and watched them with slightly widened eyes: the same ones he had the last time he fought the Guardians.

"Well? Fight me!"

"Don't tempt a rabbit, Pitch." Bunnymund said, swinging his boomerangs over his shoulder and throwing them at Pitch while Gaspar got his weapon ready.

Meanwhile, Quetzal and North had both landed at the same time over the battlefield, the man over Quetzal's back jumping off just as North did his sleigh. The Russian swordsman looked up to Melchior, who was alone in his fight, and turned to Quetzal,

"Quetz, go help Melchior! Tooth and I shall stay here!" he yelled, taking his swords out. The serpent nodded, taking off into the air to help the old King.

"Melchior, where is Balthazar?" she hissed once she was close to him. Melchior was on his horse, attacking Fearlings by the pairs with Arabic style swords as they rode all over the place, inseparable in their fight. Melchior looked worriedly at Quetzal and said,

"I do not know."

* * *

Balthazar was safe. He had landed his horse, jumping off of it and running to Maria to aid her…somehow. He had seen how Daniel yanked the sword out of her chest, but couldn't land sooner because of the Fearlings. He slid to her side, kneeling down to place her head in his lap. She looked terrible. Her usually pink lips were now white, along with her face, and her eyes were closed. Her breathing was like hiccups, paused and sharp and her angel wings and shirt were soaked with rain and blood. In short, she looked awful.

He felt shocked to see her so badly injured. He bit his lower lip, holding back tears, and then took a deep breath to speak,

"M-Maria?"

She looked up, slowly opened her eyes but they were sort of dazed when she glanced at him. Still, she managed to smile and say something,

"Balto…ugh, I don't feel so good." She chuckled weakly, settling into his touch. He chuckled too; she didn't lose her sense of humor, which was good.

"I noticed. Don't worry, Maria, you're gonna be okay, I promise." He replied, taking her gently in his arms and hugging her close to his chest. She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder, almost cuddling him. She felt so much better being so close to him right now…but she knew it wouldn't last. That stab had been fatal, she knew that. So she wrapped her fingers around his hand and held it close, determined to enjoy what was left of her second chance. But Balthazar wasn't going to let her go so easily. He was looking around for Quetzal. He'd seen her fly in, but he was frustrated; how could something so huge hide in such frenzy?!

"Argh, Maria, I have to go. It'll be just a second; I'm going to look for…"

"No! No… she whined, squeezing his hand and grabbing his shoulder, not letting go. He was trapped.

"Maria, I'm no use now, let me…"

"Don't leave me, please…" she begged, looking at him straight in the eye. He pressed his lips thoughtfully. He couldn't save her if he was just there, do anything. Quetzal had the power to save her, he knew that! But he surrendered, sitting down again with a low grunt.

"Fine. I won't leave you." he promised, hugging her tight again. Now Maria really cuddled into him, smiling as she did. He liked it, but she was going to die. He kept his eyes peeled, in case he saw the huge serpent. He looked up and,

"Eureka. Quetz! Quetzal!" he called. But the creature didn't hear him. She was too high up.

"QUETZALCOATL!" roared Balto, angered. No way was he letting Maria leave! NOT his best friend in forever! NEVER!

The serpent stopped in mid-attack, a group of Fear creatures and Night Mares held tight around her tail, and looked around for who called her.

"Down here!"

She looked down and glared at the teenager, crushing the fear spirits in her tail furiously before flying down. She arched her back once she landed, groaning painfully before she transformed rather disgustingly into her human form. Her long, slender snake body shrunk, her green feathers turning into sun baked skin, while other feathers remained as a dress. She grew arms and legs, and the feathers that were on her head turned to hair, green with orange, red and yellow tips. Once the transformation was done, she stood up, still glaring at Balto, but with different eyes.

Her eyes weren't normal human ones, more like snake eyes, black with yellow slits as irises. She was very tall; as tall as the Easter Bunny, and just as intimidating. She walk-stomped angrily at the pair, not becoming fazed by the sight of Maria bloody and half-dead. With her hands on her hips and her glare still apparent, she spoke, in a hiss similar to a snake's,

"You know how I despise my human form, Balthazar."

"That's not why I called you, I called you because…look!" he said, pointing with his hand at Maria's open chest. Quetzal hissed again, this time giving notice to the wound, and kneeled down next to the almost dead angel and the young King.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, she's very close to death. Why didn't you call me earlier?"

"Because you didn't listen!"

"Very well, it's my fault, now buy me some time. Wounds like these take time to heal, even with magic."

"Okay…oof!" he said, standing up then getting dragged down again. Balthazar tried to leave Maria, but she was clinging to his neck like a lifeline, not speaking because she was too weak already (yet the dead have the tightests grips). Quetzal rolled her eyes, realizing what exactly was going on in Maria's head, and swiftly unlocked Maria's arms from around Balthazar's neck. Maria whined, closing her eyes tight and letting some tears escape her eyes, which made Balthazar think twice about leaving, but Quetzal stopped them both,

"Balto, do as I say." She stated firmly, holding Maria down tight. Balthazar nodded, taking out his fling and running out, shooting down Fearlings that got too close to the girls. Quetzal cracked her knuckles and looked down at Maria's chest, hissing again and muttering,

"Aah, now let me remember how I do this…"

In the meantime…

"Whoa!" the man that came with Quetzal ducked his head, avoiding an incoming Fearling, who screeched like nails on a chalkboard. He stood up straight again, club on his shoulder ready to strike, but Jack Frost took the lead. He pointed his staff to the flying pain in the nose and froze it solid in mid-air. It fell to the floor with a loud clang, the frost boy raising an eyebrow cockily at the man, and flying off. But the man had other plans for the winter spirit.

"Frost! Get over here!" he called, letting his club go a second to wave at the teen. Jack looked back in confusion, but quickly flew down next to him.

"What's up?"

"Follow me, I need your help. Perez, by the way." He said while walking. Jack nodded slowly, following him; he clearly didn't have a clue who he was.

"Never heard of me? The Perez mouse? European Division?"

Jack shook his head. Perez sighed and muttered something along the lines of "ignorante, no me conoce" before reaching the site of the cage that held prisoner the source of all the fear around them. A high pitched shriek escaped the cage before the source looked outside in fear; Elizabeth. She didn't recognize either of them, but she was desperate for help,

"Get me out of here!"

"With pleasure, Elizabeth! Jack, can you manage to freeze the cage? That way I can smash it open." Perez said

"But it'll hurt her!"

"Not if it's just on one side." Perez smiled, showing off teeth just as nice as Jack's. Jack smirked and pointed his staff to one side of the cage, shooting ice at it. The cage crackled and froze over by half, making cool frost patterns over it. Jack kneeled in front of the cage, looking in at the little girl.

"Elizabeth, I need you to go to the opposite side of the cage and cover your head, okay? We're gonna get you out now" Jack said. She nodded effusively, shuffling to the cage wall, covering her head with her arms. Jack nodded once at Perez, who had his club high in the air already. Perez nodded in return, slamming the club down against the frozen side of the cage. It cracked broken like glass, black sand and white ice spreading all over like chess pieces. Elizabeth looked up and gasped softly, jumping out the cage and chuckling nervously.

"I'm out."

"Heh, that's right."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, BOTH!" she said, jumping up and down and pulling them both into a tight hug. Jack and Perez didn't expect such a reaction, so they hesitated a moment before hugging her back. She let go of Jack quickly, but hung onto Perez like a lifeline.

"Hey, I'm Jack Frost." Jack presented himself, ruffling her hair. She giggled, happily, and replied,

"I've heard of you!"

"That's good. Gotta bounce, Perez, take good care of her!" Jack said, taking off into the fight again. Perez frowned.

"As if I have a CHOICE!" he yelled back, annoyed. _Jack Frost and Gaspar could be twin spirits if it weren't for the drastic skin color differences_, he thought, snarling mentally.

"Perez?" Elizabeth asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, it's me, the Perez mouse...man."

"You look different!"

"I feel different. No tail." He said, plainly, which made her giggle again. Suddenly, the ground under their feet began to dissolve and fade away, and whoosh! They both fell through the hole, falling away from the middle of the storm, the rain hitting them harder and the thunder rolling louder.

"Aaaah! We're gonna die!" Elizabeth shrieked, her fear turning the rain and the thunder wild. The whole mess fed more on her fear than any of the other victims of the storm.

"No, we won't, listen to me!" Perez growled, grabbing her shoulders. She was on top of him, over his stomach, and he held her down tight against him so she wouldn't fly away or something. Her scared, brown eyes seemed to pierce him, but he remained firm,

"Listen to me! We are not going to die, understand?! I'm not going to let you go, I promise." He said, finishing with a calm, comforting tone. She whined, hugging him around the neck and sobbing into his shoulder. She wasn't stupid: she knew it was a lie. But the words were enough for her. He placed a hand behind her head and closed his eyes. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he tried his best to be the one falling closest to the ground so she wouldn't receive the impact. But his back didn't meet the hard concrete or the grass or anything that could be considered ground.

He felt something prickly, soft and warm, that made his eyes feel heavier. He opened one eye, then the other, and let out a sleepy, yet joyful laugh. Elizabeth had stopped sobbing, instead she was…snoring? He looked down at where he was and was on top a cloud of golden dreamsand! They didn't even reach the ground!

"Sandy!" Perez looked up, excited to see the little guy with a hand stretched at them and a smile on his face. He waved, then lowered his hand, the cloud mimicking his movements and lowering down too. Perez carefully stood up, Elizabeth in arms, looking up with a permanent smile in his face. He cupped a hand next to his mouth and yelled,

"Gracias, amigo!"

Sandy bowed his head and wiggled his fingers, the cloud disintegrating into strands of dreamsand that flew all over the neighborhood, quieting screams and relieving people of their nightmares and fears. The storm began to lower in strength, the rain still hitting hard, but the thunder roaring lower and lower. There was hope the Guardians would win again.

Now all Perez had to do was guess which house was Elizabeth's.

**A/N: Yay. Another cliffhanger. Don't worry, friends! This is just an in between-quel. The next one will probably be the end...Now that this story is coming to an end, I feel...sad. I really enjoyed writing all of this (although chapter 9 still sucks in my head) **

**I don't know if I should give it an epilogue after the war, continue it for a little longer, or just plain kill it. I'll decide later on. Special thanks to that Guest that said he/she wanted to describe the Guardians of Latino children how I wrote them. Man (or girl), that review made my day! A thousand chocolate points to you if you read this! And some nice cheesecake...yum :)**

**To the rest of the people who reviewed, you also get cheesecake! I love you guys! **


	12. The end

Chapter 12: The end

Though her eyes were closed and her energy was low, Maria could still hear what was going on around her, although it was all just plain noise. Nothing she could understand clearly. Then, the darkness around her began to change, and the noise she heard faded slowly away until there was silence. Grass appeared, houses rose from the ground and the sky filled with stars. The air smelled like sweet and the silence changed to lively music; salsa, merengue, bachata and villancicos that reminded her of Christmas. She looked around and saw behind her a house with a party.

Everybody cheering and smiling and dancing. She wanted to be a part of it. But a baby crying prevented her from going inside. She turned around and saw Baby Lucia, her little sister, sitting in the middle of the road, crying her little brown eyes out. She took another look back and noticed no one else but her saw Lucia was crying just across the street. Then everything made perfect and terrible sense; it was the night she died, but it didn't feel like a memory; it felt REAL.

"Lucia?" she asked, but was cut off when she heard a car honk at them. A Jeep with more people than it could hold was driving from a hill towards the baby at ungodly speeds. Lucia stared at it, crying harder, her face becoming red and her eyes wet from tears. Even if Maria wanted to run to her and take her from the street, avoiding the fast approaching car from hitting her…she couldn't move. She began to panic.

"Lucia!" she yelled, trying as hard as she could to move. She felt like she was tied where she was standing. The car came faster and faster towards Lucia, who kept crying and making Maria go mad in desperation. Why couldn't she move?!

"Lucia, corre! Corre lejos!" she yelled in Spanish, wishing the girl would understand her and do as she said. But the baby just stayed on the ground, screaming for Maria desperately, "MARIA!" The car drove even faster, ready to hit Lucia head on, while Maria panicked and cried also. This couldn't be happening again! NO! She felt her chest tighten, like it was being sewed, and there was that battle noise again, and something like a voice calling her…

**"Wake up."**

Maria's eyes shot open, gasping for air as her back arched from the shock of coming back to life again. She sat up with a jolt, panting, her heart racing from fear.

"Aah…"

"Tranquila, you're safe." a snake woman next to her said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Without giving it notice, Maria took a look around her, trying to see if something had changed. Yes, it did. There were other people…and creatures, fighting along the Latin's. The storm either raged or calmed by moments, and it seemed there was golden light seeping through some cracks around the clouds. And Elizabeth wasn't there…as in, in her cage.

"Elizabeth! Where…?! Ay, caramba, my chest…" she whined, placing a hand over the scar that remained of her fight with Daniel. She barely could see it, being just a pale white line crossing her chest.

"Relax, the girl is safe. The pain will go away in a while." Quetzal assured, sounding calm and almost motherly at her. Maria took some deep breaths and closed her eyes. Then opened them and glanced at Quetzal, furrowing her brows in confusion.

"Who are you?" Maria asked, recovering rather quickly from the pain. Quetzal chuckled, showing off fangs like a serpents. She was quite impressed with Maria's fast healing. Most needed days to recover, even with her magic.

"You're quick, aren't you? I'm Quetzal, nice to meet you."

"I'm…"

"Maria!" the teenage angel turned around and saw Balto running to her. The young King slid next to her and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly around the waist. Maria hesitated for a moment, but then smiled and giggled, giving the hug back by wrapping her arms around his neck. Quetzal merely rolled her eyes at the tender moment and stood up.

"Ugh, I'm gonna leave you two lovebirds alone. There's Fearlings everywhere and I love it!" she said, making a spear out of nowhere and running off to do her part in the battle.

Maria and Balthazar stared as she left, but then looked at each other sweetly and smiled. He got up, helping her stand. Once she did, he kept a hold on her shoulders, clearly not wanting to let her go after the fright.

"It's good you're back." He said, simply.

"Feels good to be back. Let's go kick some Night Mare butt, shall we?" she smiled mischievously, opening her palms and creating her distinctive sai's. Balto loaded a diamond shaped rock in his fling and raised an eyebrow at her, smiling.

"Ladies first, then."

* * *

Gaspar, a bit far from the pair, went from pissing off Pitch with his spear and overpowering him, to trying to save his skin from a swarm of black sand bees that stung him even in his ears.

"Aargh!" He growled, falling to his knees to get the little buggers out of his ears with his finger. He swung his weapon at the bees, making them retreat for a second before swooping down to him and piercing his skin once more. He cursed in Swahili, angered at the lack of back up to help him. Where was the Bunny that helped him stand when he needed him?!

A blast of pastel green dust told him he wasn't alone. He raised his head and saw pink, blue, green again, yellow and other colors blast at the bugs and destroy them, plus shooing the rest away from Gaspar. Gaspar stood up, gripping his weapon and looking for Bunny. The dust blew away from the wind, and there stood Aster, boomerangs at hand and a triumphant smirk in his face.

"The advantages of bein' the Easter Bunny, Wise Man."

"Oh, shut up, I had everything under control."

"Under control? Of course, over your knees, right?" Bunny teased, punching him on the arm softly. Gaspar scowled at the Bunny, feeling both humiliated and annoyed, before widening his eyes and yelling,

"Watch out!"

A Fearling in the mood for pestering them came swooping in, surrounding the two Guardians and screaming at them. Bunny grabbed a bomb and raised his arm to throw, but Gaspar swirled his weapon at the Fearlings and rolled it around like cotton candy. Then, he bent it a little and pointed it at a Night Mare, shooting it at the horse and blasting them both. Aster stared at Gaspar, who had his own triumphant smirk in his face.

"The advantages of being a Wise Man…Bunny Wabbit." He teased, softly punching Bunny back and smiling like he'd won an award.

"Ha-ha, Curly Toes, ha-ha. Let's just see how good your stick is from here to the next ten minutes."

"Better than you, I hope!" Gaspar said, whistling and calling his horse, getting on it and riding away.

* * *

The fight between Daniel and Jen-Jen (if you want to know) had lowered in intensity. From strong punches and deep bites and tough kicks, it turned into just a glare war. They were tired. Not from fighting, but from merely being together, even if it was fighting. Dad stood on one side and Son stood on the other, one gripping at his shoulder and the other at his ribs. Their breathing was labored, and the physical pain made it even harder. They wanted to kill each other, but neither could overpower the other. Jen-Jen couldn't for some strange, otherworldly reason, and Daniel, because he wasn't as strong as his father.

Daniel eyed the black ground, then let his ribs go and placed his hand openly over it, slowly making a knife with to kill Jen. Jen-Jen saw what he was doing, but didn't have the will to do a weapon of his own. For Mim's sake, he was sick of this entire freaking situation! And dizzy like a hangover. Everything spun in circles around him. Daniel growled, obviously using all the power he had left. At that, Jen-Jen laughed, raising his head up so the rain could hit his face and keep him awake.

"Are you seriously going to kill me now, Danny?" Jen-Jen teased, cackling. Daniel looked at his father angrily, taking his finished knife, but not moving from his place.

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

"No, I'm just curious; you had the power and you had the chance over at the river when we saw each other again at the river with Elizabeth and Noche. You went through the trouble of negotiating with the Nightmare King and creating this monster storm, capturing the attention of two Guardian divisions, just to finish _me_ off. Tell me…why didn't you kill me back then?"

That stopped Daniel's heart. He did have the opportunity, and it was even easier than now. Why hadn't he finished him off instead of giving them a warning with Maria and Elizabeth? He stuttered, gripping the knife softer while he thought of a good reply to tell Jen-Jen. After a second, he raised his head and looked directly at Jen-Jen's black eyes. Inside, Jen-Jen shuddered. Daniel had the deep blue eyes of Sarai, and hell, why did memories flood back in moments like this?

"I did this so you could see my power." Daniel simply answered, standing straight. Now Jen-Jen understood. He did it all for attention. Jack Frost might have done the Blizzard of the '68, but Daniel did better; the storm of the century. In that precise moment, Jen-Jen rolled his eyes back and moaned, collapsing on the ground while Daniel watched in astonishment how easily he fell.

"Huh." He mumbled and turned into a shadow, slithering through the cloud towards his partner in all this.

* * *

Pitch had been left in peace thanks to his bees, and was controlling all the Fearlings and Night Mares, creating ten whenever a Guardian destroyed one, making the fight something endless. But he didn't notice Sandy creeping behind him silent like a mouse. Then, Sandy tapped his shoulder. He looked back and saw a grinning Sandy waving at him before he looked down and saw he had dreamsand tied around his ankle.

"Oh, no…" Pitch muttered before he was thrown up, down, left, right and slammed against the sand. He groaned as he slid back towards Sandy and rolled around like a pastry, gagged and tied like a Christmas present. Sandy nodded once, as a "Take that!" to Pitch, and left him to one side before creating some weak strands of sand and throwing them at nearby Fearlings, turning spiders into horses and rats into puppies that ran to the battlefield where the Latin's and the Americans fought bravely to defend Childhood. Still, he needed help to finish off all the darkness and Fear around them.

In that instant, the divine help he wished for appeared; Maria, with a sai in one hand and a midday white glow on the other. She destroyed Nught Mares and, by accident, fed his weak dreamsand figures with the light like she'd done it a million times. He zipped towards her, waving his arms in front of him. She stopped what she was doing and looked at him, head tilted and a slightly annoyed glare in her eyes.

"Duck." she said plainly, lowering him with her hand and throwing a sai to a Night Mare that came running from behind him.

"What do you want? Help?" she asked, sounding less irritated than what she showed. He bobbed right back up, a question mark over his head and a pleading expression in his face. She smiled.

"Of course."

He pumped his fist, victorious in a way, and took her hand, pulling her up into the rain clouds. Mix Heaven with Dreams and you get a signed contract with unlimited power. Which was exactly what they felt once they touched. Dreamsand met White Glow, at first timidly melting together and making a small ball of something. But slowly, the two used their energy and power to make it grow, and soon, it was just feeding off the fear and controlling itself. All it needed was the guide of the two Guardians and it would extinguish the storm of Fear that tormented both kids and adults a hundred miles below them.

Quetzal had this feeling, suddenly, that she should look up. She sliced a Fearling with her spear and did exactly what her feeling said, and she thanked the heavens she did. Her snake eyes widened as she saw a light, half gold, and half white, growing and eating, practically, at the blackness around them. She looked down and noticed the ground begin to dissolve and become thinner, the power that maintained it beginning to lower. With a small gasp, she hid her spear and turned into a snake, slithering up to Melchior and smiling.

Melchior halted his horse as Quetzal slithered in front of him, blocking him. She had a smile in her face, which confused the King.

"What is going on?"

"Look up! We're saved!" she giggled, flying up to the mess of white and gold eating up the mess of black. The sight was blinding, and Melchior had to narrow his eyes to see Maria and Sandy shooting strands of dreams and light all over the place, forming their own storm. Quetzal circled around them, then stood on the same cloud as Sandy, throwing blasts of multicolored flames that just intensified the feeling of hope Melchior felt.

Pitch watched also, bewildered, at how his beautiful fear creatures and Night Mares became weaker and weaker, and the cloud changed color. It felt worse than the last time, because the last time he wasn't as near to winning than now. And where the hell was Daniel in this?! Like he invoked him with his mind, Daniel appeared out of nowhere, a knife in his hand. The teenage fear spirit cut his gag and resolved to cut the rest of the dreamsand.

"About time, useless rascal!" Pitch scolded him, getting up and creating a sand cloud so they could fly up towards the three Guardians ruining their job. _What a nice welcome_, Daniel thought, feeling lower than what he already felt.

"I was busy."

"What? Taking care of your father? I told you to take it easy and wait" Pitch snapped back, making a bow and arrow. Daniel knew he wasn't having the luxury of killing another Guardian; he had already failed with Maria so he just created the shadows that were usual to him and begun to poison the wonderfully made dream cloud around him. Quetzal, who put the color in the mess of gold and white, noticed a black spot on her parade, and turned around to see Pitch pointing an arrow at Sandman. She huffed.

"Isn't he going to give up?" she hissed to herself softly, and slithered behind the irritating pair of fear spirits. The arrow shot towards the back of the Sandman, a smile creeping up Pitch's lips, but was cut off by a certain feathered serpent with a scowl. He stumbled back, grabbing Daniel's shoulder and turning the boy around.

"Quetz?!"

"It's time somebody took care of you two idiots." She snarled, wrapping her long, slender snake body around the pair, squeezing them tight.

"**Aah**-hah!" they wheezed as she flew away from the cloud, making sure they didn't ruin the hard work of the other two Guardian spirits. In the meantime, the rest of the Guardians left the center of the cloud, helping Sandy and Maria by shortening the amount of Fear around the white cloud. They sliced, they threw egg bombs, they threw rocks that blew up and together, and they minimized the size of the humongous fear cloud.

"Noo!" Daniel screamed, furious at how easily Fear could be defeated, even with the amount of it that was spread all over the American coast. The wonder, the hope, the dreams and the innocence spread faster than his poisonous fear, foiling his plans of helping Pitch return the Dark Ages, and what felt worse, his powers rapidly decrease and die. The strands of dreamsand that looked like dolphins, race cars, soccer games and fairies stretched far and wide, entering the houses in Elizabeth's neighborhood and the rest of the US coast and calmed nightmare stricken people and giving back the peace of mind they had lost most of the night.

* * *

As soon as he got the chance, North in his sleigh along with the Easter Bunny and an unconscious Jen-Jen and Balthazar landed over the wet, quiet street where everything started, sighing relieved that it all was ending. Melchior on his horse, Tooth and Jack followed next, panting and scratched up.

"Whoo. That was quite the fight!" Tooth panted, holding her chest and resting from the fluttering.

"Yeah and I ain't NEVER doing that again." Gaspar said, climbing down his horse, but his knees failed him and he tripped, landing face first on the pavement. Jack giggled, helping him get up.

"Hey, we're missing two people." Bunny said, slouching over the sleigh, regretting ever jumping in it. The Guardians looked up, watching the cloud eat away towards the remaining black sand cloud. Then, Sandy and Maria flew down towards them, also exhausted but smiling. When she landed, she stumbled a little, almost falling, but Balto caught her sliding his arm under her wings and through her waist, catching her in time.

But Sandy did stumble and fall in the sleigh, falling straight to sleep like the Sandman he is. Tooth chuckled flying into the sleigh also, brushing his golden hair with her fingers. Jack walked to the teenage pair and smiled,

"Looks like you two saved the day for all of us." Jack said, patting Maria's shoulder. She blushed, smiling and answered,

"I guess so. I've never used so much power for one night…" She sighed, resting her head on Balthazar's shoulder. He brushed her now curly hair with his fingers, placing his head on hers from the exhaustion. Gaspar raised an eyebrow at that, but pretended to ignore it. Melchior plainly smiled, turning to North.

"Thank you, Nicholas, for assisting us in our fight."

"Ah, do not mention it, Milk. It is what Guardians do, no?" the Russian gift-giver said, shaking Melchior's hand. Then he looked at Maria.

"I suppose this is new Guardian chosen by Manny."

"Yes, meet Maria, Guardian of Innocence." He presented her. She waved at him in a weak manner, but politely.

"And this is the ill-famed Jack Frost, if I am correct. Not so infamous now, huh?" Melchior added, looking up to the winter spirit like an uncle would a nephew.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too." Jack said, saluting from the highest part of North's sleigh, smirking like only he knows how to do. North clapped his hands together and rubbed them, saying

"Well, old friend, us American Guardians have to go. Christmas is too near for comfort and I have loads of work to get done."

"I also have a ton of work too!" Tooth chirped in, raising her hand like it was a class.

"We get it. See ya!" Balthazar said, waving good-bye at all the American Guardians. North was about to take off with his reindeer when Bunny jumped off the sleigh, yelling,

"No way I'm going through THAT again, no sir! I'm leaving in my tunnels. See ya next Spring, guys." Bunny tapped his huge paw twice and jumped into his tunnel, showing off with a flip and disappearing, leaving nothing but a pastel blue flower. Jack rolled his eyes and grunted "Show off".

North smiled and smacked the reins, getting his reindeer moving into the starry sky, a huge portal appearing where the sleigh disappeared in, leaving the Latin Guardians alone in the peaceful neighborhood.

"They took Jen-Jen with them." Maria noticed. The Three Kings shrugged it off, not worrying about it. Maria didn't worry, either. He was in good hands. A dragon roar interrupted their minute of peace, and Quetzal came flying in, but not landing, with Daniel and Pitch wrapped tight in her tail.

"Gotta go quickly, guys. I haven't had dinner like _this_ in 2,000 years and I'm starving!" she said quickly, floating above them like a huge dragon. Melchior let out a hearty laugh after watching Daniel and Pitch's eyes widen at the mention "dinner"

"Understandable. Enjoy your meal, Quetzal!"

"Okay. Bye!" she said, flying away in the direction of Mexico, her birthplace and home. Melchior and Gaspar kept giggling at that, though Balthazar and Maria didn't get the joke. She pulled away from Balthazar, running in the direction of Elizabeth's house. The Three Kings followed behind, wanting to know why she left running. She stopped right in front of Elizabeth's house, with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face. The other three got there shortly afterwards, and smiled too, at the sight before them.

In front of the door, with almost all the paint washed away from his face, and a girl sleeping over his chest, was Perez. He snored softly, his head rested over the door and his body all slumped like he'd just plopped himself there without mercy. His skin glowed slightly in gold, surely dreamsand, and he didn't seem to be waking up anytime soon.

"Oh, look at them. It's so adorable." Maria cooed, walking closer.

"Yes, but his back is going to ache in a few hours." Melchior giggled.

"They look like father and daughter." Balthazar added, following Maria. They kneeled in front of the pair, Balto prying Perez's arms away from Elizabeth and Maria carrying the girl. Perez tensed at the contact, noticing somebody was moving him but not opening his eyes. Maria carried Elizabeth softly, whispering things into her ear and stretching her red stained wings so she could fly into her room and place her inside. Between Gaspar and Balthazar, they took Perez to Noche and mounted him over the horse's back, the African King jumping on and handling the reins.

"Let's go, Milk."

"Right. He needs a bed and so do I!" Melchior exclaimed, mounting his horse.

Gaspar shook his head slowly, gazing to Elizabeth's window to see Maria. The teenage angel climbed on the window sill, holding on by the edges, and signed to the Kings that she would fly ahead. Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar nodded, taking off towards the sky along with Maria. As they rode to The Heavens, the once starry night sky turned to indigo, then blue, then gold, changing night to day in a flash. It seemed like it was giving an ending point to the bad memories, the scars, the injuries and the battle that had occurred over the heads of unsuspecting citizens, who merely slept enjoying the dreams the Sandman and Maria gave them, with just a hint of Quetzal's colorful magic.

**_The End_**


	13. Letter to the Readers and Everyone Else

_**Dear readers, reviewers, followers and everyone else:**_

_**THANK YOU.**_

_**The ending chapter was a tad long (a TAD?!) so I put the normally in the end author's note, here. I put the tahnk you first because, hey, without you guys I wouldn't have been able to finish this. I'm talking seriously! Even before I joined FF, I'd cut things off before finishing. I still got some projects here and there to finish, but this one (to my great relief, sadness, excitement and a lot of other emotions) is DONE!**_

_**Thanks to all the people who reviewed (in short words XP) because they always made my day, especially Aku-Hai. You were my first reviewer, and without you, I wouldn't have gone farther than the second chapter! There's also QuirkyRevelations, who half convinced me one time to LIKE chapter nine (it still sucks, though), and always gave me great reviews, that Guest that said he/she would describe the Guardians like I wrote them, and EVERYONE ELSE GETS CHEESCAKE OR WHATEVER DESSERT THEY WANT :)**_

_**Surely, this will be all, but beware...I might give this a 13th chapter because it needs it.**_

_**Other than that...thank you for following this to the end.**_

_**With love, candy and fun,**_

_**bedstories**_

_**P.S: I liked writing this chapter, even if I'm no God writing fight scenes and all. Maybe I cut the fight too rapidly...but it's done, so forget it XD**_


	14. A Half-Baked Epilogue

Chapter 13

The sun was just peeking over the side of New Jersey, announcing a new day. People slapped their alarm clocks silent and got up, and kids fought with their parents for "five more minutes…" Elizabeth, however, woke up with a start.

"Maria!" she screamed, her heat racing a thousand miles an hour. She heard the thumps of her parents waking up and racing down to see their daughter, but she didn't register it properly as she scanned her room.

"What am I…?

"Elizabeth, cariño! Are you okay?" her mother asked worriedly, appearing on the door dressed in pink leopard pajamas and her hair all ruffled. Elizabeth didn't answer her immediately. She could've sworn she wasn't here…

"Um, mami, I…"

"Look at you; you look like you saw a ghost, mi cielo! Tell me, what happened?" before Elizabeth could even start thinking, her mother sat down next to her and half hugged her, brushing some locks of her hair. Elizabeth breathed in, and then whistled out: she was safe back home. But now she wondered…what she saw last night, had it been a dream?

"Mami, I…someone kidnapped me last night." Elizabeth aid slowly, like processing her memories from last night.

"Really?" her mother gasped.

"Yes! A-and took me to the sky, in the middle of a storm! And Jen-Jen, I told you about Jen-Jen, right? He brought his friends, the Three Kings, and Maria! And someone else who I think was the Perez mouse, but he's not really a mouse, and…"

"Wow, must've been some dream, no wonder you woke up screaming."

"But mami, there was a fight! Nightmares were running all over the place, and Daniel killed Maria but then a dragon came in and I fell through a hole and…"

"Shshshsh, calm down, Elizabeth, it's a very long story to tell. How about we go down for breakfast and you can tell me all about it, hmm?" her mother got up from the bed and walked out to the door of her room. Elizabeth followed, thinking that last night had been so horrifyingly real, yet everything pointed that it was a dream…except…she looked at her bed. Then under. Then everywhere in the room. Something of hers was missing. A smile stretched through her face.

"Mami, my teddy bear is gone!"

* * *

Meanwhile, up in the Heavens, morning also arose over the exhausted Latin Guardians. Melchior was the first to get up, forced by habit and the need to drink some tea. He lazily walked to the kitchen, dragging his bare feet until he got to the kitchen, dropping his elbows on the counter and rubbing his face as he tried to awake officially. Once he did, however, he blinked twice when he saw a familiar feminine figure sitting in front of him with her hands on her hair and a glass of milk in front of her.

"Mm…Maria?" Melchior yawned, rubbing his eyes. Maria looked up, like he'd been there the whole time, and gave a sad smile.

"Oh, hey, Milk. Good morning."

"Good morning, child…what are you doing up now? It's too early, even for me." He asked, stretching his old back and pulling a chair close to her. Maria shrugged and started spinning her finger in the milk.

"Nothing."

"Just nothing?"

"Mm-hmm." she hummed, in a daze. Melchior stayed quiet a minute, looking at her while she stared at her glass of milk. Her state of sadness worried him. Maria was the kind of girl that illuminated a space just by being there. She practically brought a smile to everyone who knew her, even the stone-hearted Gaspar. Seeing her so down wasn't good.

"I do not believe you are up so early for nothing. Tell me what is wrong." He said, half asking, getting off the chair and beginning to make tea. She looked up at him, eyes wide, and slightly winced.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Maria, Maria, you are sulking when you should be dancing! We were victorious in battle last night, by a hair, I must admit, but victorious nonetheless. If it were not for my destroyed back and aching legs, I'd be dancing and jumping and praising the Lord by now. But you are there, sitting on a counter with a glass of milk and your eyes fixed on nothing. If that is not a clear sign that there is something wrong, I do not know what it is." He said, placing a teapot on the fire, walking back to the chair to wait for it to boil. He sat next to her and looked at her to the eyes.

"Please, Maria. I want to know what is wrong, so I can see what I can do to make it right." He finished, smiling like any grandpa would do. Maria bit her lip, her eyes beginning to fill with tears, and she burst crying, covering her eyes with her hands. That took Melchior by surprise. He was expecting her to just talk, not burst into tears. But she wasn't done.

"I'm a failure, Melchior! I'm such an idiot! I'm not worth it..."

"Maria, I do not understand…"

"Of course you don't! You'll never understand, because you didn't lose your baby sister in a car accident!" she roared, her eyes brimming with rage and tears. Melchior opened his own black eyes wide, just plain startled at the side of Maria he never saw. She sniffed hard and dried her nose with her sleeve, glaring at him.

"I failed her, Milk…I failed my sister, Daniel told me so! He told me exactly what happened that night, that it didn't matter if I jumped in and stopped the Jeep and gave my life for her, she died! She got crashed anyway and it's all my fault! It's all my fault…I can't dance, Milk…because I didn't win! I'm no victory…I'm a failure." She let her forehead hit the table with a light thud, tears rolling down her cheeks and sobs wracking her whole body like spasms. Melchior looked out to The Heavens, checking if she'd woken anybody up (especially Perez) then cleared his throat, getting up and walking to the other side of the counter so he could face her.

"Maria, look at me." He said, his voice firm yet gentle. She looked up, expecting him to be stern, but only met his calm expression.

"Daniel lied to you. The only way to kill and angel like you is to stab its heart, but he did better and stabbed you with a broken heart. But she is not dead."

"How are you so sure?" she said, voice low and threatening. Melchior tried his best to keep his calm front up with her; she was damn scary when she was angry.

"Because I am Melchior, Latin Guardian of Wonder, and _I say so_." He replied, as if he were asking for a tissue. Her face changed to a strange expression, something halfway between confusion, anger and hope. Honestly, she never thought of t that way. She'd woken up in the middle of nowhere with no memories of how she got there. Even when a chubby man named Mim explained himself, all she remembered from her accident was a pair of lights coming at her and a car honk. Any version of her death, by anyone, to her was legit. She felt like a fool, believing in Danel. He went back to his tea making, putting previously chopped ginger into the water and pulling the chair that was next to Maria closer to the fire so he could warm up.

"Why do you not go check it out today after breakfast, hmm? Balto can go with you if you want. I know you trust him like a brother."

"He didn't know about this, though." She said, sounding more like Maria, which made Melchior feel better. Silence fell over them after that, because Maria couldn't think of something to say and Melchior was watching his tea boil. Once the teapot started screaming he got up and took two cups from the cabinet, pouring tea to both of them. Maria noticed this, and fixed a strand of hair behind her ear,

"Oh, uh, I don't want any, thank you, Milk."

"The second one is not for you, excuse the straightforwardness." He said, walking to the fridge and taking milk. He poured an equal amount of it in the second cup and put it back in, handing the milky tea to Maria, who had her eyes wide with confusion.

"Go bother Perez and give him some of this, will you? He loves ginger tea with milk."

"Just plain? No sugar or honey?"

"He is a special kind of mouse." Melchior shrugged. Maria raised her brows, then took the cup and started leaving the kitchen while Melchior took some sugar and poured it into his own tea.

"Uh, Milk?" she asked, looking back.

"Yes?"

"Thanks…for listening to me and making me feel better."

"I am still in shock you believed that son of a duende. That just shows how attached you are to your center." He smiled. She gave a small, halfhearted chuckle and turned away, walking in the direction of Perez's room. Melchior just sighed in content and sipped on his morning tea, enjoying himself either way.

Minutes later, Melchior heard a cup crash and a small yelp he knew too well. Melchior almost choked on his tea, and before he knew it, he was panting next to the door of Perez's room, staring at Maria, who was also flabbergasted next to the bed.

"Maria, what is wrong?!"

She gulped and uncovered the sheet of the bed: where there was supposed to be a person, was a pillow.

"Perez is gone."

* * *

Quetzal sat in her wooden rocking chair, enjoying the peace and quiet that filled her whole lair. Similar to Pitch, Quetz had an underground lair hidden deep in the mountains of Mexico. She'd taken care of the fear spirits shortly after the battle, giving them a lesson she knew they'd never forget. Especially that Pitch figure, he needed some serious therapy. Then, she let them go without another word. Quetzal wasn't dumb. She knew Pitch had a bigger purpose than just fear, and she knew that like Jack and Maria had done, he had to find it out on his own. Daniel was a different story, however, but she would worry about him later. Right now, what she wanted was a nap. A one hundred yearlong nap with an extra five minutes.

Unfortunately, she wasn't getting her wish fulfilled any time soon. She hadn't even closed her eyes for a few seconds when a knock on her door alerted her she had company. With an irritated grunt, she got up from her chair and slithered to the door, opening it with magic. It was Perez, as a man still, dressed in normal clothes and his cute top hat rather than the war paints and cover-up she'd given him. By the looks of it, and much to Quetzal's chagrin, he was up for something serious.

"Quetzalcoatl, we need to talk."

"Ugh, it's too early, Perez! Can we change this appointment to Tuesday 2113? I'm trying to get some sleep after fighting your war." She snapped at him, starting to close the door. He caught it with his hand, however, avoiding a face slam with it.

"No." he boomed, opening the door and stepping in without consent. Quetzal groaned and closed the door with a flick of her tail, slithering behind the Spanish Guardian, while turning human.

"Ugh, what is it, Perez? Tell me quick. I've little patience for you now."

"Tranquila, I won't…why are you in your human form?" he asked, perplexed and amazed at the figure of Quetzal.

"It's more comfortable to talk to you this way. Now, state your business." She said, straight to the point and cross armed.

"And...where are Daniel and Pitch?"

"Perez!"

"Oh, right. You see, after the battle with Pitch and Daniel…"

"Uh-huh."

"…you left quickly, and I was asleep, so you didn't have the chance to turn me back into a mouse again."

"Yes?"

"So I thought in coming here and asking you to do it. Please?" he shrugged, unsure of what else to say, or that she would agree.

Quetzal raised an eyebrow and inspected Perez from top to bottom. He was, to her understanding, the cutest thing she'd ever revived or re-set in her long, long lifetime. She didn't feel like ruining such work of art, especially now that she could actually take a look at what she'd done. She tsked twice and hissed, indecisive.

"You want to be a mouse again?" she repeated.

"Yes, please." He replied, nodding once.

"But why?"

"I can't do my job properly being a man. Look at me, I'm huge! It's difficult to take teeth and leave coins without waking a child and not being mistaken with a robber."

"Is this only because of your job?" she insisted, still not wanting to turn him back into a mouse just _yet._

"And…I miss my tail." He sheepishly confessed, speaking quietly like expecting someone else would hear it, though they were alone in the whole room.

She smiled. Like always and despite his age, he pictured the childlike innocence he so passionately protected. She had a plan, though, to take the most out of his human form.

"All right, I shall grant your wish. You need to be a mouse more than you need to be a man."

"Thank you, Quetz, I…"

"But." She stopped him, palm facing him sternly. "You must pay me a small toll before I do."

He gulped. Oh, there goes the neighborhood. He wondered what he would have to do. Go on a quest? Clean up the lair? Oh, he just hoped it wasn't anything humiliating!

"W-what do I have to do?" he asked, fearing the worst. She smiled mischievously and slid closer to him, which made Perez even more nervous.

"Nothing bad. Just a kiss."

His eyes widened slightly, both surprised at the simplicity of the price and afraid of where he had to kiss.

"Where?" he asked once more, sounding more nervous. Quetzal's grin widened too, happy of Perez's jumpiness at the task.

"On the cheek, don't worry." She replied. Perez sighed, relieved (it was just on the cheek…) and promptly went on with paying his toll. He leaned in quickly, expecting his lips to meet her cheek. Instead, she turned her head straight at the last second and lowered herself to his level so that their lips kissed.

"Mmm?!" Perez squeaked, realizing the trick she'd done him. She lied! But…he didn't seem to mind.

His huge green eyes slowly closed and his mouth parted slightly to take in a little more of her deliciously sweet lips. She placed her hand on the border of his head, close to his neck, and let him do whatever he pleased with her mouth. The kiss seemed eternal to both of them, and with great reluctance they separated, only to notice their hands warmly wrapped around each other and the blush that covered half of Pérez face. Quetzal's fang-like smile stretched across her face, a slight blush creeping up her cheek bone as she simply said,

"Oops."

"You sneaky little serpent." He said softly, resting his forehead on hers.

"You don't mind?"

"Why should I?" he replied. Quetzal felt like kissing him again, but she was a snake of her word. She cleared her throat and let him go, taking a few steps away from him. He pressed his lips and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Uh, Quetz…"

"Stay still and hold your breath." She commanded, facing her palms at him. He shut his mouth instantly, taking a breath and holding it. Smoke arose from the ground beneath his feet; curling around him like a snake would, and blurred his vision of everything. But if he didn't know better, he could make out in Quetzal's face a grimace. But it couldn't have been. Then, as quick as a flash, his skin grew fur, he grew whiskers and a tail and he shrunk to the size of a mouse. The smoke around him blew away and once again, the world was too big for him. A smile stretched in his face.

"Wow…" he breathed.

"You're welcome; now get out of my lair." Quetzal hissed a snake once more. Perez stared at her, wide eyed and confused.

"What?"

"You heard me: get out." She said once more, then began to slither back to her rocking chair.

"But what…you…you can't kick me out just like that! What about the kiss thing and the blushing and you…? Your grimace! I saw you do that and…" Perez protested, following her. But before he could continue, his nose bumped into Quetzal's, and his eyes met her fiery intense glare.

"Roberto Elias Perez, if you do not leave, I will not ask you again, the next time, I will **eat you."** She threatened.

"So it's for that? Because you're a snake and I'm a mouse? Is that why you want me to leave?"

"No! It's…gah! It's more complicated than that, Perez!"

"Then explain to me why you just kiss me one second and the next you're kicking me out like nothing ever happened, because you…!"

"Shh." She hushed, coiling back up onto her pillow on the rocking chair. Perez stopped talking, but his face remained the same. That Quetzal was the hardest thing he'd ever tried to understand…but come to think of it, all women are like that. She gave a heavy sigh before speaking,

"Listen to me; your job is the children. You have a beautiful cause to fight for; last night was proof of it! I can't place myself in front of them, no matter how much I want to. The children all look up to you, to protect their memories. I don't have anything to offer them or you. Why bother, then, ruining your strong sense of protection over them by giving these...stupid things, weight? No, Perez, I can't ask you to do that. Now please…I ask you to leave before this gets any worse."

Perez sighed and scratched the back of his neck again, thoroughly thinking in what she had said and done. He'd known Quetz for over 106 years now. They were pals! Friends, like him and Jen-Jen were. But with that leap of faith she'd done, with that kiss...he knew the friendship they had would never be the same. Now he had butterflies in his stomach! For her! If they would've walked down that road, they'd be lovers for sure. And in the back of his mind, it didn't seem like a bad idea. Still, she'd backed away. And he should too.

"So…that's it, huh? You'll just let me go without a word because of my job?" Perez asked. Quetz nodded slowly, resting her head over the edge of the seat, looking at the floor in a depressed manner. Perez twitched his nose, starting to become outraged, but knew he couldn't do that because what she said was true.

"You know what, Quetz? You're right. I have priorities. Right now, it's morning here, which means I have teeth waiting for me in Spain. So good bye and good riddance!" he said as he walked to the half opened door of her lair. Just before he left the lair, he looked back at her. She raised her head too, and their gazes met one last time. Perez couldn't leave her like that. He didn't have the heart. So he pressed his lips tight for a second and added,

"You know…what you said about my job…it doesn't have to be that way. You can have something to offer them...you can have something to offer _me_." And with that, he left the lair, closing the door behind him. Quetzal's eyes widened at what he said, but she brushed it off and laid her head down, determined to get her nap…but she couldn't.

"_Stupid butterflies._" she grumbled under her breath.

* * *

Perez knew he had teeth to collect. Similar to the Tooth Fairy, he had a sixth sense with these things. But standing outside Quetzal's lair with that deep feeling of guilt and regret, more than work, he needed a friend. And he knew exactly which friend it was.

"I just hope he's awake and alive up at the Pole." he squeaked to himself, taking a Jen-Jen sized snowglobe from under his hat. After the incident at the bar n Mexico, he'd stolen one or two globes from Jen so he could transport himself easily, given that his only mean of transportation were sewers that resembled Bunny's underground tunnels. Except that he couldn't _make_ one, just find one and scurry through it. Plus he doubted North's place had any sewers. So he whispered a few words into it, slammed it against the ground and crossed the instant portal, arriving in a split second to the North Pole; specifically, in the middle of the yeti's work area, where North was barking instructions "a todo lo que da". The huge Russian gift giver stopped talking and looked to where the portal had appeared, revealing the tiny mouse. Though it took him a while to recognize him, a smile stretched through his features.

"Well, hello, Perez mouse! What are you doing here so early?"

"Hey, North. I, uh, came to see if Jen-Jen was alright. C-can I see him?"

North's smile slightly faded as he scratched his chin in thought. Jen-Jen had lost a lot of blood at the battle with Daniel. He'd practically been deflated like a balloon! He'd be three more days in the infirmary, not to mention with his shoulder wound, it could be even more time. But seeing his best friend for a little while couldn't hurt. North gave a slight chuckle, then turned back to the yeti he'd been speaking to.

"Paint it green and change the wheels. I shall take out guest to see Jen-Jen."

"Oof, thanks, North." Perez said, following North to the infirmary. Perez had to do his best not to be squatted by the big yetis walking here and there, building toy and doing what-not. After a few close-calls and getting lost for a second, the two Guardians arrived at Jen-Jen's door. Before he entered, though, North bent down to warn him,

"He is very injured, Perez. He needs his rest, so make it brief, da?"

"Okay, North, I understand." the mouse nodded. North also gave a nod before opening the door for Perez to walk through. Perez scurried through the room to the bed where Jen-Jen was, climbing up the sheets to the edge of the bed. North had been right: Jen-Jen looked awful. He hadn't gone back to his duende form, so he was still the sze of an adult. Only made the sight worse. His eyes were purple and sunken, his cheeks were cut and his forehead was wrapped up like his shoulder. And he seemed to be going through the fifth dream. But no sooner than Perez stopped walking, Jen-Jen opened his eyes and turned to see him with his usual duende smirk.

"Hey, short-stack."

"Hey, Peter Pan. You don't look well."

"I've had better days. My head hurts like a hangover. And I didn't even _use_ my head."

"Heh-heh, when have you ever used it?"

Jen-Jen gave a half-hearted chuckle and closed his eyes again. "So, what'd you came here for?"

"Just wanted to see how you're going. And I need a piece of advice." Perez said, almost painfully. Jen-Jen raised his head a little bit and re-opened his eyes, now fully interested in his rodent friend.

"Ah, si? I'm all ears, teeth thief."

**A/N: Well, this didn't end so badly. I thought it would be worse. Oh, hi! Hello. Welcome again to one of my stories! You know, after I finished this fic, thought it was the end, but I got this really bad writer's block with everything I did, so I thought "Maybe I didn't _really_ finish my fic" so here's chapter 13: A half baked epilogue, made just for you! As I promised. Of course, I left plenty out, so beeeeewaaarrreeeee chapter 14! Reviews are very welcome, although not needed. I'll still continue this. But if you want to tell me how you see this and if I did a mistake, don't be afraid to tell me. Just don't flame me, or I'll ignore you. Other than that, enjoy! :)**

**Oh! And thanks to QuirkyRevelations and Storyteller77, for the ideas and the listening to my insecurities about this chapter. Love you guys so much! :D 3**


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